Some Kind of Crazy
by WaTerANgE
Summary: What happens when you take a modern day girl and throw her into the avatar world? A whole lot of craziness! My first story so please R&R. Ch 12 is FINALLY up!
1. WHAT!

A/N: I don't Avatar but I do own my own characters, so please no stealing! I've changed this up cause I wanted to change the story, hope you like it!!

CH: 1  
WHAT?!:

"Sessa", his was calling her, like a whisper on the wind, so quiet she wasn't even sure she had actually heard him speak, or if her mind was so freaked out that she had imagined it. Staring at the shadowed figure; fear and hate rippled through her. She knew she should leave, she knew she had to get away...she just couldn't get her feet to cooperate.

"Sessa," He repeated as he slowly walked toward her; for every step he took forward she took two back. She was desperate for a way out, but she was unwilling to take her eyes off of him for even a moment to find one.  
He was completely surrounded by shadows, a result of the fire that danced along the walls behind him, his face completely hidden from her. But she didn't need to see his face to know who he was or that he watching her.  
'He's playing with me' she thought angrily to herself as she kept moving back to keep the distance between them.  
She was stopped suddenly by a wall pressing against her back, panic and surprise swept through her, "Shit" she breathed, 'I'm trapped'.

Looking around for a way out, she felt her hope die; he was blocking the only exit. Glancing back at him to measure the distance between them, her heart raced when she saw that he was no longer across the room; he was right in front of her. She was sure her heart had stopped beating. Holding her breath for fear of making the slightest sound, she stared helplessly into raging pools of gold she knew were his eyes.

"Tsk. Tsk. Sessa". She couldn't see his face as he said her name, even though he was right in front of her, but she was sure he was smiling. Something in his voice told her he was enjoying this game he was playing. She leveled her gaze at him and glared all her anger and hatred at him; and raising her chin in defiance, showed him no fear...even though she was sure he could hear her heart beating madly in her chest.

He let his eyes tell her he was smiling as his right hand grasped her neck and little by little he applied pressure until he was choking her. Sessa felt her panic rise but refused to give into it until she saw him raise his left hand, her eyes widened and instant before fire erupted forward and engulfed her.

--

Screaming, Sessa flew off her pillow; raising a shaking hand to her face she took in a raspy breath and shivered. She was drenched in sweat, her heart was still thundering in her chest and the fear she felt in her dream was still gripping at her.

"Just a dream, Sessa; just a really bad dream".

Calming herself just a little bit, she frowned and came to the conclusion that binging on junk food and one to many thrillers last night had led to this freak out.  
Running a hand through her tousled hair she sighed and took in the room around her. Early morning light was beginning to come through her huge bay window lighting up the pale blue and white room she called her own. White and yellow striped sheets were twisted around her legs, and a pillow had landed on the floor at some point during the night. In fact her sheets and the lone pillow were the only sign of her troubles during the night, everything else was calm and serene; just the way she liked it. Relaxing, she decided to go back to sleep before getting up for school; unfortunately for her, at the exact moment she began to drift into sleep, her alarm clock sounded off; resulting in a shrill beeping filling the once quiet room.

Yelling and bounding out of bed from surprise, she tripped and fell to the floor from the twisted sheets.  
"OW!" growling at her bed, she looked around to see what had scared her. Settling her eyes on the culprit she glared at her now evil penguin clock and threw the fallen pillow at it, resulting in a dull thud as it hit her wooden floor.

"Stupid clock! Jeez I think my heart stopped, again. Ugh! Can we _PLEASE_ stop with the surprises for today?!" she pleaded to her ceiling.

Untangling herself from her sheets, she righted herself and, glaring again at the clock she went to it and turned it off. Gathering some clothes she walked across the hall to her best friend's room and banged on the door.

"AMY! MEI! YUKI! Get up! We have to get to class...ON TIME FOR ONCE!"

Unable to help herself she smiled at the thought; she and her best friends (who just happened to be her roommates) Amy, Mei, and Yuki had never  
once been on time to anything in their entire lives. They had known each other since the fourth grade and now, seven years later they were as close as real sisters and even called themselves sisters, but they still had a horrible sense of time.

Flashback:

Sessa watched nervously while her mom spoke with the principal of her new school, she didn't want to go to this school, she liked her old one... the one where she knew people, had friends and had fun. Her father however, thrilled at receiving a huge promotion, would do anything it took to make his bosses happy and make more money to provide for his family; even if it meant moving to another country and breaking his daughter's heart.  
Her mother bent down and gently smoothed Sessa's hair away from her face.

"Be a good girl for mommy Ses, and try to make new friends today okay?"

She smiled a reassuring smile at her daughter before giving her a tight hug and kiss, then she stood up and let the principal take her away. Sessa stared at the floor as the principle led her to her new classroom, her eyes were burning from the tears she wanted to cry, but she kept them in. She still didn't understand why she had to leave, after all her best friend Sarah had told her that she and her family would take her in. Unfortunately her father had refused saying that families stayed together. Closing her eyes, she focused on the floor and only looked up when they stopped; in front of them was a white and green door. Laughter and screaming were coming from the other side; starting to get more nervous by the second, Sessa gulped as her new teacher opened the door and brought her inside. The principle winked and smiled at Sessa before she turned and began walking away back down the hallway, and walking with her were Sessa's hopes of going home and hiding under the blankets. Letting out a slow breath, Sessa looked up at her new teacher, the one who was watching her with a patient smile and warm eyes.

"Hello Sessa," her new teacher smiled, she had green eyes, dark brown hair and a nice voice. 'Wow. She's so pretty' thought Sessa.  
"My name is Ms. Miko, it's very nice to meet you."  
Sessa let a small smile show before she bowed and quietly whispered the proper greeting her mother had taught her,  
"It's nice to meet you too Ms. Miko".  
Smiling still Ms. Miko led her to the front of the class and quickly got their attention.  
"Class, this is Sessa, she's a new student from California in the Unites States of America. So please, make her feel welcome and help her get used to her new school, okay?"

The class cheered their "okay" and when Ms. Miko showed her to her seat in the middle of the classroom the girls nearest to her turned to talk with her. The girl sitting to her left beamed a brilliant smile at her, stuck out her hand and after shaking Sessa's, began to talk, the girl to her right was the first to speak:

"HI! I'm Mei," Mei had rich hazel eyes and short chestnut brown hair, "and the girl on your left is my cousin Yuki! She's super cool; and she's also the best fighter in our grade so if anyone gives you any trouble Yuki will take care of it!"  
"Eh.." scrambling for words, Sessa could only nod as Mei finished her introduction.

Yuki, the girl on her left, let a relaxed smile play across her face and nodded to Sessa.  
"Especially if they're boys, any boys give you a problem let me know and I'll take care of it! They'll run home crying!"  
Sessa's eyes widened and tried not to laugh as Mei smacked her hand to her forehead while she mumbled something about violent people watching too many movies.  
Like Mei, Yuki had rich chestnut hair, only hers was longer; but what caught Sessa's attention was that Yuki had the palest blue eyes she had ever seen, and for a Japanese girl the color was rare.  
Yuki having noticed that Sessa was staring at her eyes, grinned at her, "One of my ancestors was an Englishwoman, I get them from her."  
Sessa blushed at being caught staring, and was about to apologize, but before she could say anything Yuki cut her off with a wink, "Don't worry about it, your new, you're allowed to stare."

"And I'm Amy," the girl sitting in front of her had turned around and was patiently waiting for a moment to speak. She had wavy black hair down to her back and hazel eyes. "I can help you if you have trouble in any class ok? There isn't a class we've had that I can't crack, so if you need a study partner or a tutor let me know!"

Mei grabbed Sessa's arm and smiled at her, "So then, want to be friends with us?"

Sessa let a huge smile spread across her face and nodded her enthusiastic ok. Mei laughed and Yuki handed Sessa a piece of gum.

"Okay! It's settled then, we're your new best friends!" Amy grinned before turning back around and facing the front of the class to listen to Ms. Miko talk.

End of Flashback.

And so it had started, from that day on they were attached at each others sides and always late for something, in fact she couldn't remember a single time when any of them had ever been on time for anything. At school they were always pardoned for being late, Amy was the principal's niece and everyone knew they were habitually late, but the four of them had the best grades in school and they were great at sports so they got off easy.

Reminding herself she had to get ready, she walked into the bathroom and began her shower. Stepping in and setting the water to the right temperature, she let the hot water caress her and relax away her nightmare. She smiled "Ah that's so much better! Water fixes everything! Well that and chocolate fudge ice cream and seeing Yuki chase Kato around with a baseball bat." Sessa laughed as she remembered watching her cheating ex boyfriend run from her sister. Sessa had come home in tears, and when she had explained she caught Kato with another girl, Yuki had gone for the bat before she went hunting for Kato's head.

"Ugh the jerk!" glaring at the floor she was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard someone call her name. After a moment passed without hearing it again, she returned to her shower.  
"Sessa" a woman's soft voice whispered against her ear.

Sessa dropped the soap and spun around in her small shower. Smacking her left knee into the bath faucet she silently cursed her mind for playing tricks on her.

"Right.." she muttered, "'cause there are other people in the shower who can whisper in my ear". Ignoring the feeling she was being watched, she finished her shower.  
"The sooner I'm clean the sooner I can go be with other people. Other non-hearing-voices-in-their-shower people".

Like Amy she though. Amy was the logical sensible one; the one who could always be counted upon to take in everything before coming to a conclusion. Where as Mei was the cute adorable one, with an outgoing personality and a friendly smile to anyone she met; and Yuki, well Yuki was the "I will kick your ass if you hurt my friends" one.  
"And I," smiled Sessa, "well, I guess I'm the one who has a little bit of everyone's personality"; and even though she was oldest, the others were fiercely protective of her and she had never figured out why. The only reasons she could come up with were that one: she was from America and the others had taken to protecting her, or that two: as Yuki had put it once, "You're as innocent as a baby rabbit". She really hoped it was the former.

Rinsing off again, she stepped out and grabbed her fluffy towel before walking quickly into her room. Shutting the door behind her she toweled off and opened her closet doors. Ditching the clothes she'd had before, she rummaged through her closet before deciding on her outfit; granted it was her high school uniform, but she could at least pretend she got to pick what she wore.  
Humming quietly to herself she finished getting ready and turned to look for her book bag, the one she always misplaced even though she was sure she always left it on the desk by her bed.

"Hello Sessa" said the young woman sitting on her bed.

Sessa jumped and dropped the hair brush she'd been holding at being surprised, 'Again!' she thought, she raised a shaking hand to cover her eyes to keep from laughing in frustration.  
'At this rate, I'll die of cardiac arrest before 18!' She frowned at the floor lost in her own thoughts.

"You make three. THREE!! Three times my heart has stopped or come close to stopping today. That is not a nice thing. Sheesh, a girl can't take much more of this! I mean - OH MY GOD! You...you can't be real! You're a cartoon! Oh god. Oh god, I'm dreaming. I HAVE to be dreaming. That or I smacked my head harder than I though on the floor this morning and now I'm hallucinating!"

Her white hair flowing down around her in waves and her eyes alight with amusement, the woman sitting on the bed merely smiled at the young woman muttering to herself in front of her.

Sessa stopped pacing and stared at her "Yue... you, you can't be real".  
Yue merely widened her smile. "Sessa, I'm as real as the air you're breathing. That's not the point though, I've come to talk to you; Roku and I need your help. My world needs your help."

Sessa stared at her for a second with wide eyes, then shook her head, "You need my help. The cartoon Moon Goddess from one of my favorite T.V. shows need my help...oh yea sure, I'm hallucinating. I mean after all cartoon people pop into my life all the time. But for argument's sake, why not? Mei is always telling me to go with the flow and let life happen."

Yue just stared at her.  
"Er..sorry, I'm rambling..Okay. So you need my help? MY help...o-kay. Want to explain that to me? My brain's had a rough day and it's not even 8 o-clock in the morning. Almost 8-oclock?! Oh damn we're late...AGAIN." Sessa grumbled and sighed before she sat down onto the pillow that was on her floor to listen to her hallucination.

Yue visibly relaxed, and smiling again, began to explain.

--

"I have to WHAT?!"

Yue winced, the girl was angry, and she had a right to be, what she and Roku were asking for was impossible, but if this was the girl then she hoped Sessa would agree to help. Or at least listen to Roku before she said no.

Sessa stared at Yue incredulously, "No, really, I'm serious! You want me to what?"

"Time will pass slowly here; a year in our time will only be three months here, you won't even know the difference."  
"I think I'd notice three months Yue, and that's just at the very least!"

Yue sighed, the girl had a point, but there were other things to talk about right now.

"If you agree, at the end of this if you like...you can choose to return home and I can ease the memory of your journey so that it will only be like a dream to you; and you can move one with your life. Or, if you like you can stay in our world, or return home with your memory intact, but you don't have to decide that now. We can go over that at the end if you like."

Sessa nodded her understanding to Yue.  
"Fine, but IF I do this, and I mean IF, then we have to tell my sisters what will be going on so they don't panic. They have a right to know."  
"Sessa, I -" Yue's words were cut off by the fierce look Sessa shot her.  
"No. My sisters must be told what's going on or the deal's off and you find another girl."

Yue paused and thought about what the girl was asking. She knew that Sessa was the girl, but she didn't like having to tell others what was going on; however finding no alternative she nodded solemnly and walked with Sessa out into the hall to find and tell her sisters what was going to happen. She just hoped they weren't as quick to anger as Sessa was, otherwise she was in for a long morning.


	2. Lost

Lost:

"Oh this is great...just great, I'm completely lost! I have no idea what I'm doing let alone where I am; I really need to learn to clamp down on my impulses, they always get me in trouble. And now I'm paying for it, I'm LOST! What made me think my sense of direction would be any better in the Avatar world then it is at HOME?! Oh that's right, I WASN"T THINKING!  
I swear, the next time a cartoon Goddess appears on my bed asking for help, I am so telling her no way".  
Sessa glared at the clouds above her as she contemplated the situation she found herself in and decided that despite all the bad things she was thinking, the only way she would get through this was if she stuck with her normal optimistic attitude. 'and maybe find someone who could give me directions'.

Mumbling to herself about goddesses, grand adventures that were big trouble and her own big heart, she took in the beauty of the world that surrounded her.  
She was completely surrounded by warm sunlight and shady green trees, the river running just behind her was murmuring to her as it glided by. She was sure she'd have been much happier and more appreciative of her location if she'd had any idea where she was. As it was, she was as lost as small town girl in Manhattan. And that was NOT a good thing. Dropping her things under a big tree, she decided to think things over before getting herself even more lost.

Deciding that maybe water would help her think, she walked over to the river, sat down and looked into the water. She was happy to see that most of her appearance was the same, she didn't want to be completely changed; her hair was still the same honey /gold /light brown color (the amount of sunlight always changed it), it was still thick, wavy, and long. She allowed herself to smile at her reflection. She was still 5'3 and her body was the same lithe strong dancer's body she'd had before; sport's and Yuki's training had given her a body that was all muscle, and she loved the fact that even though she was small she was a pretty good fighter. 'That ought to keep me out of too much trouble' she mused.  
The only real difference she could see was that instead of having rich hazel eyes, she now had deep indigo eyes; in fact they were the strangest thing about her appearance. Yue had told her that her eyes, because of all the magic, would not only be a strange color, but they would also change to different shades of blue depending on her mood. It wouldn't be any obvious changes like from sapphire to pale blue, but just a little lighter or darker. But in everyday situations they would, in the light look like sapphire whereas in the dark they were almost violet-blue.  
Yue hadn't wanted her attracting too much attention to herself, but there was no way of getting around the eyes, the magic was too strong to keep completely hidden.

Reminding herself of what she was supposed to be doing, she stripped down into her undergarments and slipped into the cool water.  
"Oh yea, that's just what I needed. Now how the heck am I supposed to find them? They get to ride on a flying bison and I get to walk...although I could as Roku for help with that. Hmm..well if I don't find them by the end of the week, I'll ask for a little help. Until then, I'm just going to get really, REALLY lost. Maybe that's how I'll find them." Shaking her head and smiling at her crazy thoughts, she dove under the water and began to swim before letting her thoughts wander again.

Flashback:

"Sessa, it is very important that no one, absolutely no one outside of their group knows what you are capable of until the Avatar fights Fire Lord Ozai. If anyone finds out, not only will you be in danger, but the chances of the Avatar wining will sharply diminish. You can help them end this war, so please be careful, and remember, just because you are not from our world doesn't mean you can't get hurt." Roku was repeating the same warning he'd told her when they first met.  
"I get it Roku, really it's okay, I'll be very careful." Sessa tried to smile reassuringly at him, but Yue had walked in front of her again; she was walking around her in a circle, again. The Goddess's expression was a mix of worry and of pride as she finished the magic that would give Sessa the bending skills she would need to help the Avatar and his friends beat the Fire Lord. Avatar Roku watched with a small smile as Yue finished the last touches of magic, "Okay, that's all of it."

"All right Sessa" nodded Roku, "this will hurt, but as soon as it's done we can begin your training. And the sooner we finish, the sooner you can help Aang."  
Letting a little tinge of fear run through her, Sessa nodded her head and took a deep breath. Yue taking her hand, held tightly to give her some comfort; Roku raised his finger and let a small stream of fire trace a symbol onto Sessa's exposed skin; as soon as the heat went from hot to burning Sessa squeezed Yue's hand and shut her eyes while she tried not to whimper.  
The moment Roku had finished Yue placed her hand over the burn and healed it until all the remained was the mark and a small tingling sensation.

"There" Yue smiled.  
Sessa looked down at the mark and then up at them, "Wow," she frowned "I'm a wimp."  
Roku laughed. "You'll get used to it, the heat of fire I mean, then you won't fell so...'wimpy'. Now, let's get you ready. You will be the only one of your kind, so we had better make sure you're prepared and a master of your skills."

Sessa nodded and followed Roku out of the pale blue room they had been in and through the huge door that lead to a beautiful garden; in the middle of which was a small clearing for there training.

End Flashback.

Unconsciously rubbing her right hip at the flashback, she glanced down and gently traced the mark that made her unlike any other bender, except perhaps the Avatar. In a single small flame was a tiny water drop so intricately entwined together that they looked like one tattoo, but also as separate and as beautiful as their elements. The ink of her tattoo was a shimmer silver in the moonlight and black when seen in the light of the sun. The colors would also change to silver and black depending on the element she was bending, it truly was a beautiful mark. Deciding she had relaxed long enough, she focused her attention on the adventure that lay before her and the mission she'd been given.

Climbing out of the river, she bended herself to mostly dry before sweeping her hair into a loose bun and hunting for her clothes.

"OH! Come on, where'd I put my things? I know I just saw them!" she grumbled to herself.  
Glancing around, Sessa found what she was looking for. Five feet away lying under the shade of a tree was a small leather bag Yue had given her before she had left the Spirit World. Picking it up, she walked over to a nearby tree that provided the most shade, and hanging the bag on a low tree branch, looped it around to make a small knot so she was sure it wouldn't fall off.

Pulling some water from the river and bending it to surround her and the tree, she froze it solid to form an ice screen; then she quickly removed her used clothes and set them aside. Opening her little bag, she slipped her hand inside and began to rummage for the right clothes to wear.  
"Well...even if I am a water bender, I'm near the Fire Nation...so I guess Fire Nation clothes would work. And we'll ending up there anyway, so why not."

Removing a pair of black, light weight pants she quickly put them on and tied the strings together so they hugged her hips. 'Just like my dance pants'. Dusting off her feet, she slipped into a pair of red and black shoes, 'Wow these are so comfortable!' she smiled. "Yue, you've got great taste!" 'She's a princess, of course she has great taste' she told herself.  
Focusing on the next article of clothing she pulled the silky vibrant red fabric of her shirt over her head and marveled at the way it hugged her without making her feel tight or constricted. The shirt was a bright red with simple gold embroidery along the scooped neck line and around the base. The end of the shirt hung 2 inches below her waist around her legs, but had slits up both sides so that she could move and perform her bending at will. She loved the feel of the clothes against her skin; they were cool and felt like she was wearing water...despite the fact that they were Fire Nation clothes.

Letting her hair down, she brushed out the knots and decided that she always liked messy buns, so pulling her thick hair up into a bun as the final touch, she concluded she was ready.

Finally completely satisfied with her appearance, she reached into the bag and pulled out a black traveling cloak. She debated for a moment about whether or not she should put it on, but since it was warm, figured she could save it for later. Finished, she melted the screen and bended most of it back into the river, the rest she used to refill both her drinking pouch and her bending sack. Once that was done she rubbed her hands together, gathered up her things and started walking in what she hoped was the right direction.

"Right then," she grinned "let's get this party started!"

"Okay, never mind, no parties here."  
Sessa groaned and flopped down onto a soft patch of grass, she was lost worse than before; and now that the sun had set she was sure she'd never find them, after all, if the Avatar and his friends had proved anything, it was that they could find great campsites; "Far from the desperate eyes of the lost girl looking for them. Ugh, well there's nothing to do now except sleep or keep looking I guess."  
After debating for a few minutes about what to do, she decided that she'd rather do something productive rather than sit around bored and alone.  
"I wonder why Roku didn't give me a map, a map would really help, in fact...a map would have helped so much more than BEING LEFT ALONE IN THE DARK!" sighing she got to her feet and began walking again. She had always hated the dark, it creped her out...unless it was a bright clear sky and a full moon was out, but on night like this, dark and pressing, she always felt a little more nervous.

"Okay, you're alone in a dark creepy place, lost and you are going to keep looking for the ever elusive Avatar, sing something. Though that might catch the attention of robbers or other really bad people, it's better than being left alone with my thoughts."

Following her own advice, she began to hum a random tune that seemed to relax her. It wasn't until she had walked for a little bit that she realized the tune was from the Phantom of the Opera; "Oh god, because that's just the perfect song to be humming, NOW."


	3. Who are you!

Chapter 3: Those Eyes

Who are you?:

He watched the scene before him play out, she was there, wrapped in her cloak, he couldn't see her face but he knew who she was. She was looking for an exit, trapped in the room with the man before her coming closer. He wanted to call out to her, to let her know he was there, but his mouth wouldn't open, he had no voice! Panicked, he went to go to her only to find he couldn't move either. 'What is going on here?!' How could he not move, why couldn't he speak?!

Fear and anger ripped through him as he watched her back up only to be stopped by a wall; he could feel her fear as the dark figure before her approached. His emotions worsened as he watched the man before her reach up and grab her neck.

He was struggling now, desperate to get free from whatever it was that was holding him and to help her. He had to help her! He knew that if he didn't get to her she would die. That thought made his blood freeze and his heart stop, she couldn't die, he wouldn't let her. But as he watched, horrified, he felt hot tears burn his eyes; the man had raised his left hand to her face, and he couldn't get free! He knew in some dark part of his mind that he couldn't get to her in time even if he could get free.

Fire erupted from the figure's raised hand quickly engulfing the cloaked girl; his heart racing, he screamed.  
--

"NOO!"  
Zuko came awake roaring in despair, his heart beating wildly in his chest, his body soaked with sweat. The fear he was feeling as an after effect of his dream, still griping him, heightening his senses.

"Damn it. That's the third time this week I've had this nightmare."  
Narrowing his eyes, he reached over and pulled his shirt on, getting up he ran a hand through his tousled hair and glanced quickly around camp. He slept closer to the forest to keep from being near the fire, and since he was a light sleeper he was able to wake quickly if an intruder came too close.

Noting the colors of the sky he knew that sunrise was only an hour or so away. His travels had helped him keep track of time, as well as other things, shaking his head to clear it, he noted that the others members of their group were sound asleep. Sokka's snoring the only sound aside from a small crackling fire; only Aang who had stayed up for the last shift of the guard watch was awake. Noticing that Aang was giving him a questioning look with his liquid grey eyes, he sighed and looked away from them, they saw too much.

"Just a dream," he answered to Aang's unasked question as he got up. "I just need to go rinse off and get some air. I'll be back in a little while."  
Aang nodded. "Zuko,"  
Zuko stopped, and glanced over his shoulder at the young boy who had in the last two months quickly become a good friend and confidant.  
Aang paused for a moment looking for the right words to comfort his friend, coming up blank he said the only thing he could think of, "I'm here if you need to talk. I know you sometimes feel like an outsider, but you're as much a part of this group...of this family, as any of the others. You've earned your place with us, so don't feel like you can't talk to one of us."

Zuko nodded to the young boy before he continued walking out of camp. 'Sometimes, he sounds a little too much like uncle. Those two would get along perfectly.'  
Walking blindly for a few minutes to clear his head, he was surprised when he realized he had walked to the river that was close to the campsite (it was also the reason they chosen this particular place to rest).

Flashback:

Katara glared at the other five members of the group. "Just because men can go days without bathing, does not me we can...or have to!" she fumed gesturing to Toph, Suki and herself.  
"Actually Katara, I kind of-" Toph's protest was cut short as Katara continued to rant completely oblivious.  
"At the rate we're going, the Fire Nation will be able to find us just by following their noses!"  
"And besides," smiled Suki "We LIKE smelling good. Unlike some people" she said glaring at Sokka.  
Before Sokka could argue, Aang agreed with Katara and recommended that they bathe, and added with a quirky grin "After all, we're a big group, if they see us, and they can smell us then we're doomed!"  
All arguments died at that comment and it was decided that the boys would bathe first, since they finished faster, and the girls would go after.

End Flashback.

Zuko smiled slightly at the memory of the temperamental water bender; Katara hadn't trusted him for a long time, but after helping save Aang and the rest of them repeatedly from attacks by Azula and Combustion Man, and after having heard Zuko's sister rant about the ways she would kill him she had changed her mind.  
Sometimes though, he would catch her looking at him as if she were looking for any sign of trouble, and as soon as she'd see that he had seen, she would look away or go do something away from him.  
Toph's quick friendship with him had also helped sway the others into believing that he had finally changed and was a good guy. She had vouched for him and had become one of his closest friend's. They had a unique bond, she understood some of what he was going through, as she was the blind, runaway daughter of a rich family; and he the banished prince of the Fire Nation. But they would only ever be just friends, as much as they cared about each other, there was just no romantic feelings between them; just strong friendship.

Zuko paused as he neared the waters edge, a soft whimpering sound was coming from nearby. Quickly taking in the surroundings he tried to look for whatever it was that was making the noise; as he glanced around his eyes settled on a small figure on the ground by the last breath of a dying fire next to the largest tree at the edge of the clearing.  
Unsure of what was wrong and not entirely sure what to do he went forward to see if anything was wrong, first making sure there was no one else around, or that it wasn't another one of Azula's traps.  
Once he was sure it wasn't a trap, he crouched down to look at the person, only to discover that it was a girl.

'A girl?! Out here by herself? She can't be more than 15 or 16!' he narrowed his eyes and wondered what a young girl was doing out here alone. Her clothes told him she was Fire Nation, and a member of a wealthy family, but he had no idea who she was, or why no one had come looking for her.  
"Strange" he murmured.

She was curled up in the fetal position, her hair splayed out behind her in waves, and strands of it matted to her face from sweat. From the looks of it she was a very sick girl, that or she was in the midst of a bad nightmare. Moving carefully and so as not to wake her, he reached out to see if it was the former; but as soon as he touched her skin he pulled back, she was burning up! He remembered when he had been sick in Ba Sing Se, if he hadn't had Uncle he wasn't sure how he would have come out of it. Looking around her camp for any water, he picked up a small leather bag next to her.

Opening it he found two empty water pouches, no food, two folded pieces of parchment, a brush, a small gilded object and an assortment of clothes. His frown deepened when he saw the Water Nation clothes that were roughly folded with some Fire Nation clothes.

Shaking his head to remove the questions that were running through his mind about why she would have two different wardrobes and who she was, he stood and debated about what to do. No doubt the others would be awake and eating by now, and he really didn't want Katara lecturing him about going off alone and it not being safe or another one of her "mothering lectures" as Suki called it.

"If I leave her here...alone and sick she'll probably die. Or she'll get picked up by the wrong crowd...ugh why do I even care?!" he turned and glared at the girl, angry that he was even concerned with her well being when he didn't even know her.  
Sighing the sigh of a martyred man, and mentally grumbling at his uncle for his stupid lectures on being a good person, Zuko walked back to the girl and crouched down. He knew there was nothing here he could use to help her and he preferred the idea of Katara or Suki taking care of a sick person. Reaching down he slipped her small bag over his shoulder and scooped the girl up in his arms bridal style.

"If Sokka says anything about me coming back with an unconscious girl, Agni help me, I'm not responsible for the consequences" he muttered dangerously.  
Recently, Sokka had taken to teasing him about all the girls that followed them because of they were drawn to his sulking behavior and "bad boy image" as Katara put it. It didn't help that he had a scar on his face that girls seemed to go goo-goo over.

Sessa murmured in her fevered sleep and turned restlessly in his arms, her movements caused Zuko to nearly drop her. She had curled up against him and placed one of her small hands against his chest, something only one other girl had ever done.  
Not happy with the way things were going, he narrowed his eyes at the light cargo he carried and decided to put her down and try to think about the best way to explain this situation to the others.

"Hi guys, I know you're probably wondering what I'm doing and why I'm carrying this girl, but you wouldn't believe..."  
That's right, they wouldn't believe it. Zuko sighed. He couldn't come up with any approach or explanation that would make sense, except the truth. He turned and began to pace again wondering if he could just tell them the truth. His train of thought was quickly interrupted however when he heard the girl whimpering again. Walking toward her he quickly assessed that she was probably having a nightmare, and unsure of what to do gently tried to wake her.

Sessa opened her eyes and wasn't sure if she was still dreaming her nightmare; as the eyes staring down at her were lightly worried deep liquid pools of gold. Not the terrifying cold, merciless gold ones from her dream, but gold none the less. Zuko's heart stopped as the girl opened her eyes to reveal rich blue-purple eyes, but as soon as she blinked they were a deep rich sapphire and he wasn't sure if he'd imagined that strange color or not.

"You?!"  
Sessa's eyes widened as she took in the face of the person staring at her. 'Am I really this lucky?!' She knew she was still very sick but she hoped she wasn't so sick that her mind was hallucinating, but if she was it was a good hallucination, at least she could let herself pretend for a little bit that she'd found Aang and his friends. Her thoughts stopped when her head began to throb, she felt like she was on fire.  
'Which kinda makes sense since I've got a fever.' she winced at that thought. She'd gotten caught in a wicked storm without any shelter and had gotten even more sick after trying to eat some fish she had cooked over a fire, but unfortunately for her, it wasn't well cooked. Then again she had always been horrible at cooking over an open fire and she still wasn't sure if the fish she'd caught was meant to be eaten. Worse, she hadn't been able to eat anything after that; she'd just get an even more sick feeling in her stomach. All and all it had been a bad last couple of days.  
'I'm being punished for something, I just can't figure out what it is.' She growled mentally at herself.

Zuko, watching the girl closely, was confused by the girl's ability to completely forget that she was in the presence of a stranger and that she could get lost in her own thoughts, all while letting her emotions play across her face.  
'She's either very sick, very strange, or just not that smart...I mean, I could rob her or something and she's just sitting there frowning to herself.'

"I know you." The girl said suddenly.  
"Wh-what?" asked a startled Zuko  
Sessa smiled weakly at Zuko, her fever was taking a lot out of her, and she knew she wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer; much less hold a decent conversation.  
'Sometimes, it really is better to just not try and talk to people.'  
Thinking he hadn't heard her properly she tried to add more volume to her voice and repeated her statement.

"I know you."  
"Of course you do. You're a member of the Fire Nation and I'm the Fire Prince" Zuko glared. The girl wasn't making any sense. Sessa sighed and shook her head.  
"Bad idea" she whispered as her world spun and her head pounded in protest. Raising a small hand to her head to try and ease the pounding drums that were going off all around her brain, "Why do these things always happen to me? I mean really, is it that hard for things to go right every once in awhile? Sheesh, you'd think the Gods find this funny or something."  
Zuko raised an eyebrow at her, and watched as the girl turned even pinker from embarrassment and had to cough from letting a small smirk form on his lips.

"I'm rambling. Sorry. I know who you are, but not because I'm a member of the Fire Nation." But before she could say anymore her stomach let out a loud rumble.  
'Oh come on! Really?!' Sessa groaned to herself, 'Some days it's just not worth getting out of bed.'  
"I guess not eating for a few days has made my stomach mad at me" the girl smiled weakly.  
Zuko narrowed his eyes on her, remembering what it had been like for him when he had gone without food. 'I'm a warrior, I can handle it, but she..she's just a girl.'  
"How long?" his eyes never left hers and she felt a little uncomfortable being under such intense scrutiny.  
"How long what?" Sessa's mind was beginning to give up on her. She was so tired, and sore, all she really wanted to do was sleep.  
"How long has it been since you've eaten?" Zuko wasn't oblivious to the fact that the girl in front of him was weak, in fact he was certain that whatever strength she had was beginning to ebb, their small conversation was wearing her out.  
She sighed suddenly frustrated at having to form words and sentences, Zuko as quick as ever noticed her change in demeanor and began to get worried. "Mmm...only a few days, I can't really remember."

Zuko's eyes widened as he felt panic twinge somewhere inside him, a trained person could go a week without food, maybe five days without water; but a civilian..that was a whole other story.  
"Have you had anything to drink?"  
Sessa narrowed her eyes in an attempt to keep her mind focused and to keep from falling back into black unconsciousness.  
"Um, I don't know, look I'm really tired Zuko..I think I'll go back to sleep. We can talk more later okay?"  
Zuko just stared with his mouth agape at the girl. 'She just called me Zuko, not 'your majesty', or 'your highness' or even 'Prince'; just ZUKO. Who is this girl?!'  
"Who are you?!" he asked/  
Sessa's eyes were closed and all she could do in response was smile sleepily up at him, "I'm a friend. Don't worry, I'm supposed to help you; they asked me to."  
Zuko couldn't have been more stunned if she'd slapped him and called him a girl.  
"Wait what?! What's your name? Who sent you? What are you talking about?!" he shook her to keep her eyes from closing.  
"Too many questions Zuko, can't think. I'll tell you later." she mumbled.

The next thing Zuko knew the girl was slumped against him, completely asleep.  
Deciding that he really needed the others, especially Katara's healing abilities, he picked her up and continued walking, this time much faster, and much more confused than before.


	4. Hello Again

Ch 4: Hello Again

When Zuko finally arrived at the camp, the others were awake and decamping the area. Suki and Katara were busy over the fire cooking breakfast for everyone, Toph was returning her earth tent to the ground and Aang was air feeding Appa some hay they had "borrowed" from a village a few miles away. Meanwhile, Momo was eating some fruit they had found the night before while watching intently as Sokka folded the sleeping bags and loaded them onto Appa's back, twice though he slipped and fell, letting out an audible "Yeeaa!" and "Oof" each time.

Closing his eyes and taking a long, deep breath to calm his stressed nerves, Zuko cleared his throat to get their attention; he immediately wished he hadn't.

"OH MY GOD ZUKO WHAT DID YOU DO?!?" yelled Katara, dropping the water she had been bending and splashing her feet. Her expression was a mix of horror and rage and while he would have normally thought it was funny, right now it just irked him.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd have to resort to kidnapping to get a girl Zuko, with all the ones that follow you in towns and stuff that's kinda sad." Sokka laughed upon seeing the proud prince gently carrying an unconscious girl.

Zuko twitched and let out a low growl but didn't move, knowing that if he did, he would drop the girl and probably kill Sokka. 'Although, I would really love to hurt him right now' he thought evilly. He ignored them, and with every bit of self control he had, walked calmly toward the group to lay the girl as gently as he could on his sleeping bag; he then removed her bag from his shoulder and placed it next to her before he turned and glared at everyone, mentally laughing to himself when he caught Aang's jaw dropped expression and bulging eyes.

Aang had been trying to calm Katara down, but once he had seen what Zuko had in his arms he couldn't speak anymore and just stared flabbergasted at Zuko. Toph and Suki however, had just stared and remained quiet as they were waiting for the explanation they were sure Zuko would provide; 'Which,' they both thought simultaneously 'had better be good.'

"I didn't kidnap her." Zuko was more uncomfortable then he realized, there intense scrutiny was unsettling, but he continued anyway, "I found her. I think she's really sick, she was just passed out on the ground under a tree by the river and I can tell that she has a bad fever." He paused and looked pointedly at Katara, "I was hoping you might be able to help?"

Katara looked at the girl on Zuko's makeshift bed before she shook her head, "I can't heal things like fevers or colds, but I can try to help bring it down. Suki Toph I'll Need your help." Both girls nodded before waiting for her to continue "Suki, go with Aang to the river and bring back some water, we'll use that to cool her down. Toph can you make an earth tent so that we can give her some privacy?"  
"You got it!" Toph grinned, as she spit to the side and erected a huge tent, once that was finished Aang and Suki headed out to the river for water, unlike Aang, Suki had to bring four water pouches with her since she couldn't waterbend. After they had left, Katara looked around camp, she had a slightly perplexed look on her face, like she didn't know what to do, when her eyes settled on the tent, she lit up and looked at her brother.

"Sokka, bring down a sleeping bag so –" Katara started, "It's fine, she can use mine" Zuko cut in "besides, there's no point in making Sokka fall down anymore than he already has." Zuko grinned as Sokka glared at him, tried to argue but then sulked and mumbled something about going to help Suki with the water pouches and being with people who appreciated him.

Still ginning, Zuko bent down, scooped Sessa into his arms, taking a step toward the tent he paused, walked over to Appa, set her down softly on his long fluffy tail before walking back to his sleeping mattress. Katara watched in silence as Zuko picked up his bedding, walked into the tent, came back, picked up the girl in the gentlest way she'd ever seen him do anything and walk back into the tent.

Frowning, she followed him and watched as he gingerly laid her down, and swept some hair away from her face.  
"What are you doing?" she asked, there was more bite to her question then she intended but she pretended not to have noticed; so did he.

"Putting her down, why?" he looked up from the pale, moist face to the tan, angry looking one.

"I can see that, I mean why are you letting her sleep on _your_ bedding, you're acting strangely." Katara was glaring at him now, she couldn't seem to get a grip on her emotions, but she would figure out the reason for that later, once she had figured out what was wrong with Zuko.

"I'm letting her use it because all the others have been put away and there was no point in making Sokka taking them out. I don't see why it matters what she sleeps on so long as she's comfortable, and there is nothing wrong with me." Zuko narrowed his eyes on Katara, but before either of them could say more, Aang and Suki walked in.

"Here's the water!" smiled Aang happily, completely oblivious to the tension that had arisen between his friends. Placing the pouches next to the sleeping girl, Suki glanced between Zuko and Katara, but remained silent.  
"Thanks Aang; Suki" muttered Katara "we'll need to be alone in case we need to remove some of her clothing."  
At that, the men exited the room and Toph entered, "Need me for this or can I leave?" it was obvious she didn't want to be there so she was allowed to leave as well.  
"Are you okay?" Suki asked, she could tell that she and Aang had walked in on a heated conversation, but Katara refused to go into any detail and answered the question with a simple "I'm fine".

Realizing that she wasn't going to get any more of an answer than that, she let the subject drop and began to help Katara remove the girl's cloak.

``````````````````````````

After an hour the two girls emerged from the tent with news that the fever had broken but that she was asleep and would likely remain so for a few more hours. The group decided to return to the small farming village a few miles back for some food and another "hay-napping" as Sokka called it; Zuko decided to remain behind. When asked why he told them it was to keep the campsite secure and to avoid any more goo-goo girls. No one responded. However, as they left, each person had a different thought run through their minds about the real reason, and each one involved the young girl asleep in the dark.

Once Appa had taken off and he was sure they wouldn't turn around for anything, Zuko walked to her forgotten bag, picked it up and stormed in to the giant earthen teepee and approached the unconscious figure. He sat down cross legged beside her, dropped the bag at his side and watched as her chest rose and fell in a stead rhythm, 'Who are you' he wondered 'and what exactly do you mean '_they_ sent me'?'.

Frustrated with all the questions whirling through his mind about who she was, where she came from and what she had to do with any of the group, he tried to take his mind off of the confusion by studying her. Her face was clean now, and more relaxed compared to earlier, most likely Suki or Katara had washed it to remove some of the sweat and bring down the fever. She was undoubtedly pretty, yet not over the top beautiful like some of the girls he had seen in the Fire Nation court or in Ba Sing Se, but pretty enough to be noticed; and missed. "Someone has to know you're missing," he murmured "girls like you don't just disappear without someone noticing".

He continued his study of her only to stop the instant he realized that she wasn't wearing any clothes besides the cover of his sleeping sack! His eyes swept the room and he found her clothes neatly folded next to her, he picked them up and roughly shoved them into her bag. Embarrassed and furious for not knowing why he suddenly felt embarrassed, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. This girl was irritating him beyond even Sokka's accomplishments as a tormenter, and she wasn't even conscious! "What is it abut you that irritates me so much?" he growled. 'She makes you feel every emotion you've never felt before and you don't even know her' whispered a tiny voice in the back of his mind; he quickly killed the little voice and returned to glaring at her.

Sessa, that's what she had said her name was, and there was something unnervingly familiar about her. Though he couldn't pinpoint what exactly that was. He knew that he had never seen her before, not even before his banishment, and yet he could not deny that he knew her. He glowered at her, he was not happy feeling confused and unsure of himself, and he was especially unhappy with the sudden and inexplicable protectiveness he felt toward her.

Katara had asked him why he let the girl use his bedding, when he had never, ever allowed anyone near his bed, not even Mai had been on his bed back when he'd lived in the Fire Nation. He never let anyone in the group unpack or pack his sleeping sack, and he certainly never let anyone sleep on it; but even he didn't have an answer, so he told himself the same thing that he had told Katara.

He turned to her bag and was about to unclasp it and open it when a soft mumble made him pause. She was stirring, he leaned over to watch as her brow furrowed together and her entire body tensed an instant before it relaxed and she opened her eyes with a little yawn. He watched silently as she took in her surrounding before her almost purple gaze fell and settled on him.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!" she screamed, throwing her arm out and hitting him in the jaw with enough force to snap his head back and make him fall backwards. Zuko violently cursed Agni while he sat up again and rubbed his jaw; she instantly jumped up and lost the cover of the bedding "What the hell are you doing here?!? Where am I and" she paused and looked down, "WHY THE HELL AM I NAKED?!?!?!" she threw her arms across herself in an attempt to cover up and turned a violent shade of crimson.

Zuko stared at her for what seemed like a solid minute before they both reached for the cover. He grabbed it first and held it up in front of him like a shield while she desperately looked for a way to cover herself.

"Bag" she squeaked, "Right there. On the floor." His voice was a bit dry, but he cleared his throat and used his index finger to point where on the floor. There was a very quiet "Oh" before a small hand appeared at the bottom of the cover to take it. He watched thoroughly amused as her feet turned away from him and she began to dress. He thought desperately for anything to take his mind off of the quiet rustle of clothing, so he thought of his uncle and focused on that until she had walked up to him and gently pushed the cover down.

Sessa groaned internally when her eyes met his, 'Of course I have to freak out and hit a prince when I wake up. Why would I ever have a sane, normal reaction to seeing someone watch me when I sleep?'  
Shaking her head gently to clear the horrible embarrassment, she tried to relax and smiled at Zuko. "Sorry about all that, I'm not used to waking up with someone around me, and when I'm surprised I usually go with reflex. Are you okay?" concern and some remorse were evident in her voice, but it still took Zuko a moment to reply, and when he did, it was with a relaxed smile of his own "Yea, I'm fine. Not a bad hit for as girl like you."  
"A girl like me?" she narrowed her eyes at him, "What does that mean, a girl like me?"  
He shrugged and stood up "That you're a wealthy Fire Nation girl, probably no more than 15 or 16 and you shouldn't know how to hit like that."  
Sessa stared up at him, when he was standing was taller than her by about a head; at full height she only reached his collar bone. She frowned at him, annoyed at what he had said and that he was taller than her.  
"I'm not Fire Nation" she huffed.  
"You're clothes say you are." He replied, nodding to the clothes she was wearing, they were the same ones that he had found her in.  
She looked down and back up again frowning, "They were a gift, I didn't have anything to wear here, and I didn't know what would be necessary. I'm not from around here. But that's off topic" she laughed a little. "I'm rambling again, sorry. I do it when I'm nervous."  
"You're nervous?" he asked, surprise showing itself in his voice and face.  
'Ya think?! I'm in a strange world, I have magic powers, talking to T.V. characters _and_ you're hot. Now why shouldn't I be nervous?!' she asked herself. "I'm in a place I've never been before, with people I've never met, I have no sense of direction and I think I poisoned myself with fish. Yes, I'm nervous."  
Zuko chuckled to himself at her dry humor; she was being sarcastic but also sincere and open; it made an interesting combination.  
"Anyway," she cut into his thoughts "do you know if there's a place I can clean up, I feel a little...gross".

Zuko paused, unsure of what to do. If he took her to the river before the others returned, they might get worried, but he knew what it was like to go long periods of time without bathing, and how uncomfortable it could make a person feel. Deciding he'd rather deal with concern than with making a girl uncomfortable, he nodded and told her to follow him. He led her to a spot closer to camp where the river was gentler and sheltered by large shady trees.

"Um," Sessa started, but Zuko took advantage of her pause to fill in,  
"I'll just be over there, and I won't look", he promised "but I'll be close enough if you need anything."  
Sessa smiled and thanked him; she waited until he had disappeared behind a tree a few feet away before quickly undressing and slipping into the clear, cool water. "Aahh." She breathed, "Much better".  
Zuko heard her comment and shook his head, but before he could think any more on the subject she called out to him.  
"Zuko?" she was nervous.  
"Yea?" he tried to ignore the way the water quietly splashed as she washed herself.  
"I think we got off on the wrong foot, with me being unconscious the first time we met and then hitting you the second time" she was struggling with the right words, but he saved her from further embarrassment buy answering her unasked question.  
"It's alright, I've had worse" he winced when he remembered accidentally burning Toph's feet when she had secretly gone to speak with him that first night at the Western Air Temple.  
There was a short pause before she responded, "Well then, let's do it over. Hello, my name is Sessa."  
He couldn't help but smile to himself, she was the strangest girl he'd ever met, and considering all the girls he had met over the past few years, that said a lot.  
"Zuko." He replied.  
"It's very nice to meet you Zuko." He could hear the smile in her voice as she said that, but it reminded him of a question that had been nagging at him for the past few hours.  
"How did you know?" he asked, "When I found you this morning, how did you know who I was? I think you have some explaining to do."  
There was another pause and he heard water splashing down before she answered, "I was going to, but I think it would be better if I explained it to everyone at the same time, that way I wouldn't have to tell the same story twice."

She appeared next to him and smiled at him, "Much better! A nice bath always makes me relax."  
Zuko didn't say anything, just stared at her; her hair had been swept back from her face and fell over her right shoulder in a long braid and she was wearing a fresh change of clothes. This time she had on a deep red cloth halter top trimmed around the edges with a thin line of gold that ended at her waist, and a looser pair of black pants and black shoes. It was a simple outfit, but on her, it showed off her well toned body and lithe figure. She was beautiful without even trying to be, and judging by her innocent expression, she wasn't even aware of it. Her ocean eyes smiled at him before she asked if he was daydreaming.


	5. Letters

Zuko froze for a moment when he realized just how out of place and bizarre that thought was. Angry at himself he shook the thought out of his mind and concluded that the lack of sleep for the last week caused by his reoccurring nightmare was to blame. He sighed and massaged his eyes for a moment before he began walking back to camp knowing the girl would follow. He mentally sent up a silent thanks to the gods that the girl was smart enough to keep quiet and had not bombarded him with questions. In that way she reminded him slightly of Toph and Suki, both of whom never bothered him unless he talked to them about an issue first, or unless it was serious and they were concerned; Katara on the other hand...Zuko sighed, Katara was a whole other situation, one he didn't particularly want to dwell on at the moment. He ran a hand though his hair to relieve the tension and shake off the unusual thoughts.

Sessa said nothing as Zuko turned and silently led the way back to camp, from what she had learned of him watching the cartoon show back home, he wasn't really the chatty type and he didn't know her well enough to be that way around her. _Well...not yet anyway_, she smiled to herself. As they walked, she couldn't help but look around. The fever had made her so sick she had ignored the beauty around her, but now that she had found the Avatar and the rest of his group and wasn't in the middle of being totally out of it she decided that she would walk slowly to take it all in.  
The sky was a bright, brilliant blue with a few of those "what's my shape" fluffy white clouds passing lazily by overhead. The sun was bright but gentle, warming everything it touched as the trees around her swayed and danced in a soft breeze that caressed her skin and loosened a few strands of her hair. _Okay, now THIS is heaven. _She let out a contented sigh and smiled to herself. Her momentary happiness was disturbed however, when it occurred to her that since she had found Aang and everyone else, she had to explain the impossible and hope that they believed her, otherwise there would be no point in her trip and she'd be stuck here until after the war. Alone.

Zuko glanced behind him when he heard the girl sigh, she had an unusually peaceful expression on her face and he couldn't help but think that she had been telling the truth when she said she wasn't from the Fire Nation. Unlike everyone else, she was happy, relaxed and peaceful; people here were nothing like that, even the rich and protected always seemed to wait for a catastrophe. Or they were plotting it. He flinched at the unwanted memory of his father and sister. But there was more to it than that, unlike nearly all the girls in the Fire Nation their age, this girl didn't seem to have the slightest interest in him. Not that he minded, he was just used to the women of the Fire Nation trying to touch him, kiss him and in some cases even marry him. He hated that. There had only ever been a handful of girls in his life who hadn't tried to throw them selves at him, or his title. In fact, he would bet his uncle large sums of money that this girl never paid attention to status, class or money. There was just something so accepting about her...it annoyed him. '_I am spending way too much time thinking about this girl_.' He glared at her. Until a part of his brain that had been thoroughly brainwashed by his uncle recommend that instead of just guessing about her, he ask. Angry, annoyed, and completely unable to control his actions, he listened to it.

"So what's a young girl like you doing out here all alone, did you run away or something?"  
Sessa, surprised at the sudden disturbance in silence, was brought out of her nature study, "I'm sorry, what?"  
Zuko coked an eyebrow at her, no wonder she had gotten lost and nearly died, she never paid attention. He repeated his question.  
"Oh" she grinned, "No, nothing like that. I love my family, and where I live, I could never imagine a better place... and just what do you mean '_a young girl like_ _you_'? That's the second time you've said something like that!"  
He rolled his eyes at her, "Like I said earlier, you look like you're 15 or 16-"  
"I'm 17! I just look young" she growled "But keep going".  
His lips twitched at her spike in temper over her age. 'It must be a sensitive subject', he mused silently. Honestly though, he would never have guessed she was a year younger than him, she seemed...too young, '_You look like the kind of girl that is sheltered and protected, loved and surrounded by people who care about you._' He kept those thoughts to himself, and found an alternative way to answer without betraying them.  
"You just don't seem like the type of person who would be out wandering the world alone."  
Sessa's face relaxed a little as a twinge of pain hit her in the heart, "Ah. Well, normally I'm not." her voice was quiet and she had a distant look on her face, a subtle sadness had replaced the earlier happiness that she had been all but bursting with. "I'm almost always with my three best friends...well we're more like sisters now, but they couldn't come with me for this." She shook her head and smiled at him, "I don't mean to get sad when I talk about them, but I miss them, so it's a little hard to avoid. And don't think that just because I don't seem like a rough and tough girl that I'm not! I happen to be pretty good at fighting and making it on my own."  
"Really?" he was honestly surprised. "Does that include getting poisoned by fish?" he flinched at his own words, he had meant to be teasing, but it had come out more harsh. What was it about this girl that made him feel every emotion known to humankind?! '_I can't take much more of this, she'll drive me insane, and she won't even know she's doing it!_' his thoughts ended quickly the moment he herd her respond.  
"Yes, really." She gave him a gentle glare, as if she knew he hadn't meant for his question to come out the way it did. "Yuki, she's the oldest, she decided I was a 'super magnet' for trouble so she trained me. Every day after school for hours, the weekend was even worse, but I know why she did it. She just wanted to protect me, or at least make sure I could protect myself." her voice softened as she spoke and he imagined she was remembering their training sessions together.  
"Yea, I could she why she would think that."  
Sessa let out an involuntary laugh at his comment and shook her head. Zuko felt a part of him warm, and decided that he liked the sound. He hated himself for admitting it, but he couldn't deny it the way he would have liked to. The air of sadness was still around her, and while he tried to think of something to say to cheer her up, he couldn't. He didn't know her, he didn't know what he could go with that would make her happy. So they continued on in silence.

She kept her eyes on his back as they returned to camp, but she wasn't really seeing him. Her mind had wandered off after their talk, and now she was lost in the jumbled thoughts of what she was going to say to the Avatar and his group. Her stomach tightened with nervousness as she remembered night before she'd left.

Flashback:

Amy, Mei and Yuki stared with open mouths at the two visitors sitting quietly in Sessa's room; and each girl had wild thoughts running through her mind to try and figure out what was going on. However, despite the many questions the three girls had, they refused to give in to temptation and ask the visitors all the questions bubbling inside of them until Sessa came back from her last day of work to explain what was going on.

Finally, a half hour later than usual, the door could be heard quietly snapping shut, and when Sessa entered the room it was plain to everyone something was very wrong. Her normally clear hazel eyes were now a dark green...a tell tale sign she had been crying, her wavy hair had been mused, her clothes were rumpled and a bruise was developing along the left side of her face. Mei and Yuki gasped and Amy's mouth fell open in shock while Roku flew to his feet, but it Yue who was at her side instantly. "What is it Sessa? What's wrong? What happened?" Sessa didn't respond, she just shook her head from side to side and ran the back of her hand across her nose while she tried to take enough deep breaths to calm herself.  
Yuki shot up and was at her side in an instant, her blue eyes livid with fury, "Don't you dare shake your head as if nothing happened. Who did this to you?"  
Sessa shook her head and moved away from Yue's gentle touch and Yuki's intense glare to walk to the bed to sit next to Mei and Amy. Mei wrapped her arms around her older sister while Amy, without saying a word began to soothingly stroke her hair. When she was calm enough, she took a deep breath and let out one word, "Kato".

Yue had never felt more confused or unsure of what to do in her life, granted, Sokka had come close, with the feelings he'd brought out in her, but that was an entirely different situation. Searching for guidance, she looked to Roku who was watching the scene with an intensity that made her nervous, but when he said nothing she turned to Yuki, she seemed to always have air of confidence about her. When she glanced at the blue eyed girl however, there was just as much confusion as her own but also anger and fear, but she set her emotions aside and stepped forward to ask Sessa what had happened.  
"He came to the store...after work...he was waiting for me outside when I went to take out the trash." Sessa's voice was quiet and cracked slightly when she said waiting, but she had stopped crying and her hiccups had subsided. Mei squeezed her shoulders gently and Amy gave her a quick motherly kiss for comfort.  
Yuki, however, let out a low growl, "What did he do Ses?" Sessa paused before answering, "Nothing. He just...wanted to make it clear that I should stay out of his life...and that he doesn't appreciate any intrusions from the rest of us."  
Clear blue eyes narrowed, "Did he hurt you? I swear if I ever see that scrawny little toothpick again I'm going to break him in half."  
Sessa couldn't help but grin at her over protective sister's nickname for her ex-boyfriend. "No, he didn't hurt me; he just roughed me up a little, and got mean. I'm not sure what would have happened though if Mr. Toshida hadn't come out when he did and saw us. Mr. Toshida said he was going to call the cops, so Kato ran off."  
Roku who had been standing silently to the side finally moved and approached the girls slowly until he paused and rested his hand on Sessa's shoulders. "I'm sorry for what happened, are you alright? Perhaps it would be best if we did this another night?"  
"No." Sessa cut in before he could continue, "I'm okay." She offered up a weak smile as a confirmation of this, "Now, let's tell the girls what the original point of this meeting was, ok?" Roku hesitated for a moment before conceding; after all, if this was going to work the way they wanted it to...the girl would need to leave with them tonight.

By the time Sessa was done explaining what she would be doing, where and why...her three best friends, the girls who had come to be her sisters were all staring at her with different expressions etched across their faces; Yuki was shaking with anger, Mei looked terrified and Amy was as always, calm but thoughtful.

"So...now you know why I quit my job and haven't been really focused at school."

End Flashback.

Sessa's flashback to the night she left home was interrupted buy a rather painful and loud grumbling. She froze, horrified at the noise that had just erupted from her midsection, '_Oh god,_' she thought, '_really?! Did you have to do that NOW???_' she wanted to die right then and there she was so embarrassed. Zuko, however, turned and stared. His lips twitched up and he couldn't help but let out a quick laugh as he watched her turn the very same shade of crimson from earlier in day inside the tent.

Done laughing, her escort was now watching her with an intense look that made her uncomfortable, "You haven't eaten" it was a statement, not a question. Sessa merely nodded, and when she caught the look on Zuko's face, the slightly murderous and exasperated one that suggested he wanted to either laugh or throttle her, she looked away and tried not to giggle. The others still hadn't returned to camp with breakfast, so Zuko walked into the tent, brought out his sleeping bag, rolled it up and put it with his other things. When he was satisfied, he began to look through a satchel he had bought at another town until he found what he was looking for; he had pulled out a small parcel wrapped in cloth, opening it, he returned the cloth to his back and with his hands slowly heated what looked like some bread.

Sessa wasn't sure about what to do when Zuko handed her the warm mound of bread. "Eat it" his command was quiet "but slowly, otherwise you'll get sick again; and drink sips of water with it, not gulps" he glared at her. Completely shocked, she gaped at him for a moment before her manners kicked in and she nodded.  
"Thanks Zuko" she smiled gently. He just blinked at her and moved to sit against a tree nearby and closed his eyes. She removed the water pouch she had filled when they had been at the river and sat down by the still burning fire to eat her meal in the silence her rescuer seemed to prefer.

After what seemed like ages, of endless silence, Sessa watched her companion, there were just barely visible signs of fatigue, and though he was obviously trying to hide it, it was becoming more and more obvious that he was tired. So she asked. Just to be sure.  
"Tired?"  
"No." his answer was straight and to the point with absolutely no room to continue, so she did, "Are you okay? You seem a little...on edge".  
Zuko opened his eyes and glared molten gold as hard as he could at her; "I'm fine".  
"Uh huh. Sure you are" she laughed. '_If he keeps looking at me like that, I'm going to die_'. She kept grinning at him. He kept glaring.

Any further conversation was avoided however, when Appa and the group finally arrived. Once everyone had gotten off of the flying bison, they walked towards Zuko and Sessa; the exception being Toph who quickly returned the tent to the ground before coming over.

'_Oh crap._' Worried Sessa, '_Now I have to explain; and if they don't believe me, then...then what?? Oh crap I hate this._'  
Zuko watched the panic cross her face quickly and a wicked thought of '_This should be fun_' crossed his mind. Zuko nodded his hello to the group before watching Sessa expectantly, he had to bite his cheek to keep from smiling at her apparent discomfort; '_This should be interesting_' he mused wickedly. He was enjoying her nervousness far too much. '_Then again_,' he reasoned, '_he was just enjoying it to get her back for making him feel all of the emotions he'd dealt with today. Not that she knew that she'd done anything to him. Damn it, he was still thinking about her!_' Growling at himself, he focused on what was happening in front of him.

Aang, being the ever friendly boy he was, saved the poor girl from any more discomfort as he stepped forward and smiled at her, "Hi. I'm Aang! I'm the Avatar. Are you feeling better?" Sessa couldn't help but smile at his open personality and friendly attitude. "Hi Aang. Hello everyone. My name is Sessa. I guess you're wondering who I am and what I was doing so close to your camp. Actually, I um-" she paused for a minute as she searched for the right way to explain the situation, until she remembered that Roku and Yue had given her letters that would explain the situation.  
"Hold on," she smiled happily, "I just remembered I have something that will do a better job of explaining all this than I can."

Reaching into her leather bag once again, she removed two folded pieces of parchment and handed them to the person to whom they were addressed; Aang and Sokka. Sokka stared at her like she had grown two heads. "What do I get one for?"  
Sessa smiled sheepishly at his cute suprise, "I actually have no idea what they say, but she said it would explain things to you about this whole situation, and I think she wanted to tell you some personal things too."  
"Who?!" Sokka was completely confused. And just maybe a little scared. He would never admit that though.  
"Um...you may not believe this, but it's from Yue."  
Sokka's mouth reached a new level of jaw dropping ability as he gaped at her. Suki's eye's widened and Katara, without sating a word turned to Toph. Toph answered the other girl's unanswered question, "Yes, she's telling the truth. If she says it's from Yue, then it's from Yue; or she's completely convinced that it is."

The entire Avatar group stared at her in various expressions of surprise, wonder and confusion. Sokka gaped for another moment before excusing himself and walking off into the forest to read it in private. Suki, made to go after him, but paused and decided to stay. Aang and Katara looked at his letter, before he turned his confused mercury eyes to the rich indigo ones of their visitor.  
"Roku" she answered. He didn't need to ask for her to know what he was thinking.  
"Roku, really?! I wonder what he wrote?" Aang's enthusiasm was making him talk a mile a minute.  
"Why don't you read it and find out?" suggested Katara, her light blue eyes showing a mix of excitement and worry.  
Nodding vigorously, Aang ran to Appa, snuggled against him with Momo, tore open the letter and began to read silently to himself:

_Dear Aang,_  
_ Please excuse me for the surprise I'm sure this must have caused you, but there was no other way to communicate with you before Sessa arrived. I know that you are training with Prince Zuko so that you may master firebending before you face Fire Lord Ozai, but Princess Yue and I felt that you and your friends could use more help on your quest, thus we recruited Sessa. She is not from our world or our time. There is also another reason for her being here, but that is a subject that only time can explain. Please trust me on this._

_ There are some things you must know about Sessa so that you may better understand how she can help, and just how much she has given up to help us. First and foremost, Princess Yue and I have given Sessa the ability to bend two elements; the two that we believe will be needed the most in this delicate time: fire and water. Every technique and skill I have mastered over those two elements as the Avatar, she knows as well. She also has the same ability as Katara to bloodbend, we taught her this hoping she would never have to use it, but it is always better to be prepared for the worst._

_ While I have taught her everything I know and she learns very quickly, but, she had barely any time to learn both of these elements, therefore, like all new students, she must practice. Sessa is very skilled in hand to hand combat so she and Suki should train together as I believe they will help each other grow, also I think they would both benefit from having Toph train them as she trained you in using other senses besides sight. As a firebender, you and Prince Zuko must help her control her bending and her fear; just as you and Katara must help her as a waterbender. Remember, she is new to this, and she is doing this only out of the goodness of her soul. That is where I must explain something else._

_ Sessa is completely alone, Aang. As I mentioned earlier, she is not from our world and to come help us, Princes Yue and I asked her to turn her back on all she knew and those she loved so that we might defeat Fire Lord Ozai. Her only connection to her home and her family is a small mirror Princess Yue gave her which only works in water during a full moon. She gains nothing by helping us except the possibility of becoming a part of your family, to help us save our world. Please welcome her openly as I know you will. You alone out of all of them know what it is truly like to be left completely alone in a new and unforgiving world. We will speak soon._

_ - Roku_

Aang looked up from his letter and stared at the girl who was speaking with Suki, from his tiny distance here with Appa and Momo, he could see clearly the sadness on her pretty face as she watched the rest of the group interact. Without saying a word, he stood, walked over to Sessa and hugged her tightly. In a voice only she could hear, he whispered "Thank you", unsure of what else he could say. Katara, Suki and Toph watched curiously, while Zuko kept his eyes on elated Sokka running toward them.


	6. Welcome to the Club

"Anytime" she said smiling at Aang, they both knew it was the only she could think of to say.  
'_After all_,' thought Aang sadly, '_how do you say it was no problem to leave your home, your family, everything you ever knew to help people who may not want your help to fight a war that was never yours to begin with?_ ' It said a lot about her that she would be willing to do this for them and get nothing in return. At least he could offer her friendship. He smiled at her again and she smiled back as the understanding passed between them.  
Anything else they would have liked to say was cut off by Sokka flying at them from the place where he had been reading his letter from Yue and attacking them both with a monstrous bear hug.

"Thank you!!!!" he burst, "Don't worry, we'll take great care of you!!" he said squeezing Sessa until she was sure her lungs would pop. "And YOU!" he said spinning to face a surprised and slightly amused Suki, "C'mere!" She had no chance to comply as he grabbed her, pulled her toward him and gave her a kiss that made the rest of them blush and avert their eyes, or in Toph's case, just cough in embarrassment.  
"Wow." laughed Katara, happy to see her brother so excited, "What was in that letter?"  
"Everything!" grinned the Sokka excitedly, "She doesn't blame me! For anything! She wants us to be happy and kick fire nation butt! No offense." He said glancing at Zuko.  
Zuko just shook his head.  
"And she thinks you're amazing!" he smiled, hugging Suki, "she said if I did anything to hurt you she was going to bring down her moon powers on me" he shuddered slightly and Suki giggled.  
"Isn't that great?!" Sokka looked happily from face to face and they all laughed.

Suki grinned at her goofy boyfriend, she loved him so much, and she was glad that Yue wasn't mad at her for being with him. A part of her had always wondered if Yue hated her for being with him when she couldn't or if Sokka wished he was with Yue instead of her; she'd admit those were stupid fears, but she couldn't help it. '_Ugh. I'm such a girl_.' But she was happy that Yue had found someway to bring him the letter, a letter that let them know it was okay. She smiled to herself, for once not worrying about all the "what ifs" in the world, or all the things that could go wrong, or what challenge would come next as they tried to bring down Ozai. For right now, if it was only for a day, in this safe part of the fire nation, she just wanted to enjoy the beautiful day with her friends.

"So then," Katara's voice brought everyone's attention back to the moment, "what's going on? What's the plan?" she flinched slightly at her own question. It had come of cold and uninviting, but she was the mother figure of the group and she had to watch out for them, _Who knows who this girl really is??_, she worried to herself. None of the others seemed concerned by her, but there was something about the girl that set her on edge, even though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.  
"Well," smiled Sessa nervously at Katara, then at everyone else "if it's alright with everyone in the group, I'd like to join you and help do what I was sent here to do."  
"And what, exactly were you sent here to do?" asked Zuko, he was standing the farthest away from her, but for reasons he couldn't explain, he felt like he was the only one with her at the moment. _Strange._  
"Well," Sessa took a moment to get her words right, she'd only have one chance to explain to the others what she was doing here. She shook her head at Aang as he tried to explain, this was something she needed to do. _I guess this is kind of like hazing for a sorority._ "I was sent here to help the avatar and his friends defeat your father and sister, and to finally put a stop this century long war."  
Everyone's face held a different emotion: Aang understood, Sokka was grateful, Toph believed her, Suki was confused, Zuko skeptical and Katara looked like Sessa had grown three heads and was talking about eating Momo.  
Zuko stared at her for a heartbeat's moment before he asked her the question the rest of the group was dying to know. "And how do you plan on doing that?"  
Sessa narrowed her deep blue eyes at him, it felt like he wasn't taking her seriously, and that pissed her off. People always had a hard time believing she could handle difficult or challenging tasks. Usually because they thought she was delicate, fragile or weak. _Or too young and innocent_ she thought angrily.  
"Well, Roku and Yue think you need another waterbender, firebender and hand to hand fighter."  
"Where are we going to find three more people?!" asked Toph, totally flabbergasted.  
"You're not." Sessa said, looking at the blind girl she knew could see her. "I was given the ability to bend those two elements, and I've been trained in hand to hand martial arts since I was little. That's why I'm here. I'm your guys' back up."  
Now every face, with the exception of Toph, Aang and Sokka held surprise.  
"Cool!" Toph looked like she could light up Tokyo, her smile was so big.  
Sessa watched the group take it in before she continued, "So all that's left is for you to say it's okay." _Or no, in which case then I'm in serious trouble._  
"Aang?" asked Katara, her voice had the mild snap in it again. She tried hard to avoid the questioning sapphire eyes of the girl across from her. For some unknown reason, she just couldn't bring herself to acknowledge her. She knew she was being rude, or at least coming off as unfriendly, but she just couldn't be warm to this girl. And she wasn't really sure she wanted to know why. _Jealousy._ The word went through her mind quickly, and she felt herself quash the thought down just as quickly.  
"Of course!" laughed Aang.  
"Well duh!" smiled Sokka.  
"Sure, why not? It'll be interesting at least." shrugged Toph  
Zuko nodded his consent, Suki just smiled and Katara didn't say a word.  
Sokka nodded and clapped his hands together, "Great! Welcome to the club! Now that that's out of the way, let's eat!!"  
"Uh Sokka," drooled Toph shaking her head at him, "We haven't even started cooking yet. Unless you're so hungry you'd like to eat raw meat?"  
"Ewwwwww!" his whole face scrunched up at the thought and Toph laughed. "I didn't think so.  
"Alright then, Sokka, you and Toph se up the fir pit so we can roast the meat we bought. Zuko, you can make the skewers; Suki, could you please get some wood, Aang and...um I'm so sorry, I forgot your name!" Katara's face flamed deep red as she realized the girl had introduced herself a few moments ago, but she still couldn't remember her name.  
Sessa smiled warmly at the flustered waterbender in front of her, "Sessa, but my friends usually call me Ses."  
Katara smiled weakly back, "Okay, um, Ses, could you and Aang get some fruit? And I'll bend the water we'll need."  
"Sure thing" and with that, the happy girl was off into the woods with the avatar.

After she deposited her load of fire wood by Sokka and Toph, who were arguing over where to put the fir pit, Suki climbed into a tree to make sure they were still safe at their campsite and that no one from the village had found them. From her perch in the tree, she watched her makeshift family as they worked to make lunch and talked excitedly about Sessa and what she was able to do.  
Toph and Sokka were arguing, again, this time over how deep to make the pit they would use to roast the meat Zuko was spearing with roasting sticks. '_I swear those two argue more than he and Katara do._' She laughed. As for the southern waterbender, she couldn't help but notice that Katara was watching with troubled eyes the way Sessa and Aang were talking about Roku and whatever he had told Aang about the newcomer; as well as the way the bright blue eyes would every so often drift to the banished Fire Prince. '_Oh yea,_' thought Suki, '_there is definitely something going on there_.'  
In fact, Suki wouldn't be surprised if there was more going on there than she could ever guess. She shook her head as she watched Katara watch Zuko watching Sessa and Aang. She shook her head. _Sessa, you are going to make things so much more interesting. _She giggled. She wished she could make Katara tell Zuko how she felt. _That will happen when Ozai decides to become a fairy princess,_ she sighed_. _Katara was a wonderful girl, a really great friend and sister, not to mention a truly gifted waterbender, but sometimes Suki couldn't help but feel that the girl had a bit of a complex. Every time she and Toph had tried to get Katara to talk about boys, the girl clammed up tighter than an impenetrable fortress. Toph on the other hand, who was currently hitting Sokka on the head with a mango, had no trouble admitting to having had a crush on both Sokka and Zuko at one point, but now, she only loved them like family. _A dysfunctional one_ grinned Suki.

Looking back at Aang, she saw that the young avatar was introducing the new girl to Momo and Appa, and even though they gave her their licks of approval, she couldn't help but worry for the other girl. This family they had made was a close one, and while she new they were kind and always happy to help people, she couldn't help but wonder if it would be hard for some of them to be able to welcome her as easily. After all, she had heard the horror stories of how Katara and Toph had had a difficult time at the beginning, and she only hoped that it wouldn't be the same for Sessa.  
There was nothing about the girl that set off the "bad person" warning bells Suki had learned to listen to from her training as a Kyoshi Warrior, nor was there anything that even remotely suggested she was trouble. In fact, as she watched the girl cut the fruit she and Aang had collected with the happy monk and the curious lemur, the only feelings she could pick up from her seemed to say the opposite, the girl gave off nothing but waves of friendly openness and even a little bit of vulnerability, Smiling, Suki began her climb down from the tree with a happy thought on her mind. '_I have a very strong feeling that we are going to be great friends_'.

After having finished a rather delicious lunch of spiced roast meat, fresh fruit and bread they were all rather tired. It seemed to Sessa, that the excitement from earlier in the day when Zuko had found her and brought her back to camp, paired with the excitement of the letters meant and the good food meant that they were all a bit worn out. It was then that she realized she had no supplies for sleeping, let alone anything else other than what Roku had given her to help her find the Avatar, she decided to head to the village to pick up some essentials. Especially a sleeping bag. And maybe some little nick knacks. She till had a rather large amount of the money Roku had given her left. _Let's just get the important things out of the way first, hmm Sessa_, she chided herself.  
Telling Aang her idea, he tried to get enough energy to get up and go with her, but Sessa just smiled and told him to get some sleep. It was obvious the guy was tired. However, he was still worried and did not want her to go alone. Turning to Zuko, who never slept during the day, he asked the older boy to go with her, at the very least to help her find her way there and back. Without saying a word, Zuko stood and stretched before nodding his agreement. Without bothering to bring their sleeping sacks down from Appa, the rest of the group each found spots of soft grass to lie on and began to doze off. Except for one.

Katara had her back turned to the two shoppers, but she heard every step they made out of camp, and her clear ocean eyes darkened a bit, before she forced them to close and tried to sleep. She couldn't.

The long walk to the village was done in silence, but the moment they stepped into the market, Sessa was all "oohs and ahhs" looking at everything in every stall. Zuko shook his head at her child like enthusiasm, she was excited over nothing.  
"It's just a market" he told her, his voice unintentionally sharp.  
The honey brown head paused for a moment before facing him, "I've never seen a market like it before, okay? Jeez, you and Katara just can't wait to jump down my throat can you?" her normally deep, happy blue eyes were now the dark stormy color of an ocean at night.  
He paused to study her, and remembered something she'd said earlier, "You said you weren't from here, where are you from?"  
Her lips quirked as her anger abated, she could hardly ever stay angry, "I'm from a place far, far away."  
"That doesn't tell me anything." He grumbled.  
She raised an eyebrow at him, "Okay, well the place I come from is nothing like this, that's why I want to see everything. I'd never see anything like this at home, and if I did it would probably be at a comicon convention."  
"A comi what?" he asked totally taken off guard.  
_ Oh crap, I forgot they don't know that that is_, "Um...well, I guess the best way to explain it is as a place where very special, interesting people go to hang out with each other and talk about the things they like" _I don't think that came out right. Drat. Oh well, not like he's going to go to one anyway. _  
Zuko considered this before shaking his head,_ again_, he seemed to be doing a lot of that around this girl. "You're not normal, are you?" it wasn't really a question, but she answered it anyway.  
"No, not really" she laughed "but that's why my family loves me."  
He showed her his first real smile at her unusual answer and she returned it.  
"What are they like?" he didn't like it, but he wanted to know more about her. "Your family, I mean".  
"Oh" that easy smile of hers blossomed across her face, "Well, I have three sisters, but we're not related by blood." at his confused expression she continued, "What I mean, is that we've been friends since we were really little, and as time passed we've become more like sisters. We call each other that and there isn't anything we wouldn't do for one another."  
Zuko watched the expression of love come into her eyes as her mind brought up memories of them, and he wondered what his life would have been like if he'd had that kind of relationship with Azula.  
"Okay, but that still doesn't tell me what they're like" he smirked.  
Sessa didn't miss the sadness that was quick to dance across his face, but it was gone a moment later, "Hmm...the easiest way to explain us is like this: I'm the oldest, but only in age; in temperament and attitude I'm the youngest and most naïve or innocent. Yuki come next, also 17, but she seems much older. She's very temperamental and protective, she's the overprotective one in the group, she taught me martial arts, and she's always looking out for us. Mei is 16 and Yuki's younger cousin, she's amazing, she reminds people of things that are cute and cuddly and they are always doing nice things for her and trying to keep her safe."  
_ Like you._ The thought crossed his mind so quickly he hardly had time to keep himself from saying it out loud. _Stop it, _he growled, _stop thing such absurd things about her. Maybe I should just leave her here, I don't think she'd be able to find her way back, _he sighed, annoyed at himself for thinking such stupid things. Aang needed her, and she had been sent to help them, he could take his anger out on her when she hadn't done anything to provoke it. He caught the concerned look on her face and apologized. When he told her to continue, she did.  
"So like I was saying, Mei is the cute adorable one, and then there's Amy. She's the genius in the family, super smart, drop dead gorgeous, and very logical and rational. We may not seem like a normal family, but we love each other and even if we don't share the same blood, we are family."

Zuko smiled weakly at her, he envied her the close relationship with her sisters, and while he knew she hadn't meant for it to happen, the conversation had brought up painful memories about his own family, or lack there of. Without a word, she reached up and gently touched him on his, a gesture that warmed him.  
"So" he said, eager to change the subject, "what is it you need to buy?"  
Her sapphire blue eyes twinkled as she responded "No idea, but let's take a look shall we?"

As they wandered through the rest of the market Zuko couldn't help but enjoy himself. In fact, it wasn't that hard to. Try as hard as he might to avoid it, the girl's excitement and enthusiasm for life and everything in it was infectious. Sessa seemed to be the type of person who thoroughly enjoyed life, and she was making him enjoy it too. And though he would never admit it out loud, he liked being someone's guide, showing them things they'd never seen before. He'd never had the chance with Uncle since Uncle was the guide, Mai had no interest in anything, and with Aang and the rest of them, it just never happened. It was nice to feel normal, _It's just nice to feel...anything_ he thought, _aside from pain, anger, confusion and all the other emotions I've felt for the past few years._

As the time passed and they bought the things they thought she would need, Zuko realized, rather surprisedly, just how comfortable he was with the girl. With her he was just a regular person, not a prince, firebender or villain, and he loved the way that felt; and little by little, he realized that she was comfortable with him too. Unlike others, she had no walls around herself, she was open and honest; he could read every emotion that crossed her face, and as the hours passed he learned how to read the expressions that crossed it as well. Soon he was answering her unasked questions about what things were or how they were used just by the look she gave him.  
By the time they were done, she had tried fire flakes, and didn't like them, (he of course had laughed out loud at the face she made when her tongue began to burn), she had a sleeping bag, a Sai set (which Zuko adamantly opposed her buying, after all, what kind of girl needs sharp, dangerous weapons) as well as a heavy rain cloak. By the time they got back to camp, just after sunset, Sessa was glowing she'd had so much fun, and Zuko wasn't surrounded by his normal aura of "bother me and die". The mood was quick to change.


	7. What's your problem!

A/N: I edited some of the last part of the chapter, I think it makes more sense now. Also, I didn't know what to call some of the moves in the bending match, so I just had to make some up; hope you don't mind too much!! Okay on to Ch. 7, hope you like it!

Ch. 7 "What is you're problem?!"

Zuko watched Sessa's expression as they walked into camp and he could see the hint of sadness that darkened her eyes as she watched Aang and the others interact. She was most likely remembering her family, or missing them he reasoned. Despite what she had told him about them and where she had come from, he realized she hadn't really told him or any of the others much about her world. She had merely told them that Roku and Yue had sent her, and that she was from a place far, far away. _The North Pole is far, far away. She could come from anywhere. _That thought made him nervous, his father had spies all over the world and as he had learned, people weren't always what they seemed.

His eyes narrowed as he came to the conclusion that even though he had unnatural feelings toward the girl, he had no reason for them. He didn't know her, even if it felt like he did; and he had no reason to feel like he should protect her if she was able to bend two elements and fight, even though he'd never seen her do them. Anger slowly began to bubble inside of him. He was acting like an idiot, feeling things for someone he'd only known for roughly a day. No wonder Katara had asked him what was wrong with him. _I'm insane _he thought.  
Without a word to the girl, he turned and walked off toward Sokka, who was practicing his swordsmanship against an innocent tree nearby.

Sessa felt the sudden change in Zuko's attitude, but before she could say a word to him, Zuko was gone and Aang was at her side, "Hey! How was it? Did you get anything good?"

Sessa shook off the surprise and unease at whatever had put Zuko in such a dark mood, _It is not my job to try and understand _him, she told herself, _even though I want to._ Sheturned her attention back to the mercury eyed boy who was brimming with excitement and smiled at him. He had a way at making her feel so relaxed and happy.

"Yes, actually, I got some very good things. Wanna see?"  
"Yea!" he created his air ball and floated next to her.

Without saying a word she began to unpack their bounty from the market and laid them out on the ground for him to inspect. He did so eagerly. He liked the simplicity of the black mat, blanket and single red pillow she had bought for sleeping, they were soft and warm, but also didn't seem like they would be very bulky or hard to carry. The think he liked best though was her rain cloak. Its deep red was double-lined on the inside to keep her dry with a large hood. But it was the gold and black dragon embroidery along the edges of the front that made him stare. She obviously had had money to spend, and she had spent it well.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked him after he had looked over everything they had bought.  
"Well... I get why you bought the mat, pillow and blankets, and the rain cloak, but I don't understand why you bought the knives." His expression while he said this was more of concern than unhappiness, but she knew that his upbringing as a monk had made him weary of weapons and violence. "Sides," he continued, "why would you need them if you can bend water and fire?"

Sessa looked down at the perfectly balance pointed silver blades on the ground; they were beautifully made with three sharp points each, long leather wrapped handles, and a simple carving of a sun on one blade and a flame on the other. They had captured her attention the moment she saw them, and despite Zuko's protests, she had bought them on the spot.

She met Aang's curious gaze while she answered, "Well, to quote my sister, Yuki, you may think you know what you're getting into, but you probably don't. I know that I probably won't need to use these, and while relying on bending is okay, I want to be able to protect us no matter what situation we're in."  
His mercury eyes absorbed her answer, and he nodded, "Okay, I guess that makes sense; Hey!" his smile lit up his face, "You said protect _us_."  
Her eyebrows came together with confusion, "Of course, what else would I say? After all, that's what I'm here for."  
Aang just grinned, "Yea."

He watched her as she bent down to pick up her things when an idea struck him and he stopped floating to stand next to her.

"Um Sessa," his voice was tentative when he spoke, but his eyes were alight with excitement, "speaking of bending, would you mind having a mini match against me or Katara? I think it would be good way to see what you can do before we start training together. That way we can see how advanced you are; but considering Roku and Yue trained you, it must be pretty advanced."

She laughed, "I don't know about advanced, but I think it's a great idea!" _I haven't trained with anyone in ages! I just hope I haven't forgotten anything; it would seriously suck to say I'm here to protect and help them and not be able to. _She shook off the unpleasant thoughts, "So then, which one of you, do you think will to be the guinea pig?" she grinned mischievously.

Aang's response was cut off by Katara's voice while it was still on his lips. Neither one of them had realized that she had been paying attention to their conversation. She had been helping Suki make dinner, while Toph began building Earth tents for each of them, Sokka had warned them earlier it looked like it would rain that night, so they had wanted to make sure everyone would be dry.

"I'll do it. I think it's better if you go against me anyway, Aang would probably go easy on you." She let the implication go unspoken as she walked over to them.

Sessa, while excited to practice, was not oblivious to the unspoken threat of, "I won't." when Katara had said Aang would go easy on her. She had noticed the sharp gleam in Katara's eye and hear the threat in her voice, whether Katara had meant for it to be there or not; but she refused to let the younger girl intimidate her, so put on her best game face, "Okay, great! Sounds good to me!" she smiled, "Thanks Katara".

Katara just nodded.

While Aang, Katara and Sessa began to plan out where they would have the match after dinner, the others in the group watched them with mixed emotions.

Zuko, having finished help Sokka with his sword fighting, had gone over by the fire to sharpen his broadswords when he had heard Katara's answer. His head snapped up and his gold eyes glowed as he sat watching them talk. For as long as he'd been a part of the group and known her, Zuko had never heard the amount of excitement in Katara's voice to train against someone, as he'd heard in it tonight. When she accepted the challenge to train against someone she'd just met. Normally she was shy or worried about hurting them, unless it was someone who deserved it; but now it seemed as if she were trying to prove something, as if she were eager for a chance to face off against Sessa. For a moment she had sounded just like Azula. His gold eyes narrowed as he directed his attention to the shorter girl and had to admit that he was surprised not to see intimidation or fear on her face.

Toph, sitting silently nearby spoke to him in a voice she knew only he would hear, "I don't like this. It doesn't feel right, and to be honest, Katara's kind of giving me the creeps."

Zuko said nothing as he continued watching the Avatar and the two waterbenders talk.

Suki, however, had her light blue eyes fixed on the person next to her.

"Sokka," she whispered, glancing away from him to look from Sessa to Katara and back again. "What's wrong with Katara?" Her blue eyes searched him for an explanation, but found none, so she continued, "I've never seen her like this! I mean normally she only gets this into her bending when we're battling someone, and she hardly ever goes rough on Aang. It's like...It's almost like she wants the chance to hurt her." She paused, "Or at least try to."

For once there was no amusement in Sokka's face; there was only a concerned thoughtfulness she had only ever seen when he was thinking about something serious. Obviously, this was one of those things.

"I know" he whispered back, "I don't know what's gotten into her, but I don't like it. And I don't think we can just stop them for no reason. Let's just wait and see what happens. If things get too out of hand, we'll intervene and stop them. Agreed?"  
To their surprise Toph answered for them, "Agreed."

Aang, not paying any attention the other members of the group looked at the two waterbenders, "Okay then, let's eat first and then go to the river, that way we won't have to worry about getting Appa or Momo wet." He beamed excitedly.

Appa and Momo both made noises of approval for the suggestion.

"Actually," started Sessa "could we do it now? That way we can work up an appetite and we won't have to leave later?"  
"Sure" Katara's gave her a slightly confused look as she continued, "but wouldn't you rather fight when you have more water? Sokka said it might rain and you could use that if you wanted to."

Sessa let a small smile play across her lips, "Yea, but I got caught in a really bad storm three days ago, it's part of the reason Zuko found me with such a bad fever. And since you and Suki just helped me get better today, I don't really want to tempt fate."

Aang answered first, "Oh, no problem. If you guys are ready we can go now then."

Katara and Sessa look at each other and nodded; as the three of them turned to leave, Toph called out as she, Suki, Sokka and Zuko walked up to join them.  
"Hey! Wait up twinkle toes! We're going too." She smacked him on the back when they were all together

As they walked toward the river in almost complete silence, Zuko couldn't help but feel like this was a bad idea, and by the mirrored expressions on Sokka and Suki's faces he could tell that they felt the same. This did not help.

_Stop being an idiot._ he told himself angrily, _It's not like they're actually going to have a battle, it's just practice. _but the unsettling feeling remained. He tried to come up with reasonable theories for why he was feeling so worried and he could only come up with one._ You think she'll get hurt, _the evil little voice told him. This only annoyed him, _Why in the name of Agni should I even care if she gets hurt? It's not like it's my responsibility to keep her safe! I don't even know her! If she gets hurt, it'll be her own fault._ He was furious at himself. Here he was worrying about her after he had convinced himself earlier not to feel anything for someone he didn't know.

The evil voice in the back of his mind resurfaced again momentarily by reminding him that it was, in fact, his Aang's idea they do this; and that he, as a well trained fighter and leader, should have enough common sense to prevent it. Ruthlessly and violently he silenced the stupid little voice and focused his attention to the subject of his annoyance.

He glared at her. _Ugh! What is wrong with me?? Since when do I care so much...about anything?? This is ridiculous,_ he growled as he continued to watch the girl. She was lost in her own thoughts, and the only movement that came from her was when she unwound her braid and quickly wrapped her light, wavy hair into a messy not at the back of her head.

Toph's sarcastic voice brought him back into reality, "You know, I'm _blind_ and I know that you're staring at her."  
"Wh-What?!" sputtered the Fire Prince, "I was not staring at her. Or at anyone else for that matter."  
Toph smirked evilly, "You're ly-i-ng." she sang.  
He turned his most murderous glare on her.  
She smiled at him from ear to ear.  
Zuko pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and ignored her.

Sessa felt her breath hitch as she walked through the boundary of trees toward the edge of the water. It was a still night, quiet and serene as if nature knew that something was about to happen.  
The air that caressed her was warm and balmy, like the long ago summer nights she had spent in Hawaii with her sisters, and she couldn't help but wonder if the Fire Nation was always hot, _If it's like this all the time, I don't think I would ever leave._ The only thing missing was the salty sweet air of the ocean and she would be in heaven, _or the closest thing to it,_ she grinned.  
It felt like she was walking through a dream, one that, unlike her most recent one, she didn't want to wake up from. The crescent moon hung low in the evening sky, and for the lack of her world's modern buildings and street lamps, its magical glow was bright and enchanting. It cast about shadows that danced in a veil of varying shades of silver, navy and violet. It was nothing like home and the inky black darkness scattered with sound and the flashing signs that she was so used to. _This is so much better. I bet this is what the old poets and artists used to see whenever they were inspired._

The sudden sound of Sokka's voice interrupted her content thoughts.

"Okay, so we're just trying to see what Sessa's abilities are with waterbending." he caught Katara's eye and did something he never thought he'd have to do, he gave her what he hoped was a solid _Be nice,_ "So I guess you can start at anytime?"  
"Wait" Toph looked from one person to the next, "How will they know when to stop?"  
"Hmm," Aang's expression was thoughtful, "How about, the first person to get completely soaked, loses?"  
The faces that turned to him looked doubtful.  
"I don't think that will work with waterbending, Aang; you know, seeing as how they're using water." chirped Sokka.  
"It was just an idea" mumbled Aang.  
"How about, they go until one immobilizes the other?" suggested Zuko. "You know, until one of them can't waterbend."  
Suki nodded her approval but added "That doesn't mean one of you gets hurt; it just means that you're not able to bend."  
"And no bloodbending" added Aang.  
There was a pause as Katara's and Sessa showed their surprise. "Of course not!" she said, looking at Aang and Katara, shocked he had even brought it up.

Toph left her place by Zuko and went to stand by Aang, if there was any water flying around them she wanted to be next to someone who could keep her dry. Sokka still looked a little worried, but said nothing and silently agreed as he went to stand under the safety of a tree. Aang looked to Zuko who shrugged. The two girls about to bend looked at each other and to Aang before they took their places opposite one another and bowed.

Katara eyed the girl across from her and decided that the best thing to do would be to just act as if it were a normal match and see what Sessa could and could not do. Bending the water from the pouch at her waist, she decided to first throw a water whip, but Sessa side stepped and circled the water above her head before she hardened it to ice and sent back as multiple spikes. Katara's eyes widened in surprise an instant before she stopped the spikes mid flight and melted them back to water. Pulling more water from the river, she created a circle of water around her and used it so send out a flurry water blasts at the other girl. Sessa deflected each one and sent the last one back as two balls of water; and ice ball and a water one.  
They continued to dance and test each other with waves, ice disks, ice arrows, whips, spikes, balls, octopus tentacles and other things until it became clear to everyone that they were perfectly matched.

_The only way to win this_ _is through wit_, thought Katara_._ She was beginning to get frustrated that the other girl was sending each and every attack back at her or deflecting them all together. She had been training for years and this new girl was able to keep up with her as if it were nothing. She felt as if she were facing Master Pakku all over again. The thought only made her angry; she was not a child anymore, she should have no trouble beating another bender, especially in front of her friends and family. _Especially if we're going against the Fire Lord and Azula soon. _

Using the anger to give her motivation, Katara began sending more and more aggressive attacks in rapid succession, each one with more power and force than the one before it. It quickly became apparent to the others it was getting out of hand.

Sessa saw the change in Katara's eyes as her attacks grew stronger, somewhere in the midst of this match they had gone from gauging experience to an actual fight. _Oh this is so not good._ Her mind whirled with possibilities as she tried to come up with a way to end this. She knew from a few episodes that Katara could be proud but she had no idea why she would be proud at a moment like this, she had never seen Katara like this before, _Okay, time to end this, or someone's gonna get hurt and then we're going to have even more problems. _

Creating small tentacles of water from the river she wrapped two of them around each of the other girl's legs and tugged in opposite directions. Katara, shocked at the unexpected move was taken off balance and distracted enough that Sessa was able to throw a wave of water at her and push her back against a nearby tree. Then without waiting, she pulled two balls of water and shot them as ice bracelets, pinning Katara's wrists above her head to the tree.  
Surprise was all over the other girl's face.  
Sessa bowed to her, and released her wrists.

"Yea!" shouted Aang, happy the match was over, "That was great! You two are amazing!"  
Sessa smiled at Katara, "That was a great match, it seems like we're at the same level. But you are really amazing."

Katara didn't say a word to the other girl. She was angry and embarrassed to have lost, so instead of showing good sportsmanship she shoved past Sessa and walked into the forest.  
"Hey Katara!" yelled Sokka; but she was gone before the words had left his lips.

Aang and Suki exchanged concerned looks with the same thought _What the??, _"Well then," huffed Toph, "I'll go talk to her."  
"No." Sessa stepped up to the younger girl, "Would it be alright with you if I spoke with her instead?"  
Toph paused before blinking, "Sure. But it's your funeral."  
Sessa smiled weakly, "Gee, thanks Toph".  
Toph grinned back, "Anytime!"  
"Sessa, you don't have to. I can talk to her." Sokka had put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from leaving.  
When their eyes met, he groaned mentally. Her blue eyes held the same look of determination he had only ever seen in his sister's, he knew was going to lose this conversation.

"Yes. I think I do." She patted his arm, "Thank you, Sokka, for being such a sweetheart, but I think Katara has an issue with me and if we're going to work together for the next few months, it's better to deal with it now."

He took a deep breath and let his hand drop as she stepped past him and followed after his sister. _Girls, are nuts._ He thought as he watched her follow the path Katara had taken, oblivious to the gleaming gold eyes that watched her.  
``````````

It didn't take Sessa as long as she had thought it would to return to their campsite and find Katara angrily pulling her sleeping sack from Appa's back and arranging it in one of the earth tents Toph had made by the warmth of the fire. While Katara was younger than her, she was a force to be reckoned with and at the moment, Sessa knew she was the last person she wanted to see. Closing her eyes and counting to three, she took a deep breath for strength and patience before she walked forward to figure out what was going on.

"Katara" she paused, trying to figure out what to say, but then settled for what had been bothering her, "Katara, ..._what_ is your problem?" She had never been good with beating around the bush. She was more of a "dive right in and see what happens" person. _I just really hope I don't dive head first into a lot of trouble. _

Katara froze momentarily as she heard the other girl's voice but regained her composure quickly, "Nothing" she snapped.  
_  
Obviously._ Sessa raised an eyebrow at the girl's back, "You know, I may not know you as well as the others do, but I think I know when someone has a problem. Especially if it's with me." There was a bit of bite in her voice as well, she took another deep breath and counted silently to six. _No anger, I need to know why she's so mad at me before I get angry, otherwise we're just going to end up in an argument and we won't get anywhere. God I wish Amy was here, she's able to figure people out no problem. _

Katara ignored her and began unpacking the things they would need to make dinner. Though she, herself had lost most of her appetite.

Sessa sighed with frustration. _Remember...patience._ She did not want to fight, with anyone, but especially not with Katara. When Yue had first come to her that day in her room she had thought that she and the Southern Tribe waterbender would become great friends. From what she had seen on the show, she and Katara had a lot in common and she had hoped for the chance to bond with her; instead, _It looks like we're going to have to have a little war of the words_.

Deciding she wasn't going to stand around and wait for Katara to open up to her, she walked up to where Katara was standing and stood in front of her. _If it's one thing I've learned from Yuki, it's how to bug people until they crack,_ a smile passed her lips before she focused again on the angry waterbender.

"Katara please tell me what's wrong. What did I do to get you so pissed off at me?"

Katara's bright eyes snapped blue fire at Sessa's darker ones; but it only lasted a moment before she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and gently touched her mother's necklace. When she opened her eyes again there was no more anger in them, only fatigue and sadness.

"It's not you." she said quietly. She motioned for Sessa to sit down with her by the fire, so she could explain. _Just get it over with Katara, _she lectured herself, _there was no reason to be so hostile to her when you just met her today. Besides, she didn't even do anything._ When they were both seated, Katara faced her, took a steadying breath and continued.  
"I don't think it was ever really you that I was upset about or mad at."

Sessa watched the taller girl carefully, and tried not to look very disbelieving, and despite the sarcastic retorts she was shouting in her mind, she stayed silent. Katara took the silence in stride and elaborated.

"It's just that...you showed up here today so suddenly, without warning or explanation, and you have all this power and skill, and when we were sparring, it was like you didn't even have to try." her brow furrowed as her emotions roiled through her, but she knew she owed Sessa an explanation, "You're so beautiful and different from just about everyone I've ever met. There's just something about you that draws everyone in, and I think...I think he likes you. Maybe just a little, maybe he doesn't even know it yet, but it's more than I've seen from him. Ever."

"Wait," Sessa cut in, _I'm so lost, what in the world is she talking about??_ she had not been prepared for this kind of explanation. "What are you talking about? Him who? Aang?" she would wait for Katara to finish and then clarify some things she had said. There was some explaining to do.

Katara watched Sessa's reaction carefully to see if there was any sign of feigned surprise, but it was all honest. The other girl was completely blown away by what she had heard, and Katara was happy about that. So she continued.  
"No, not Aang. I mean Zuko."

Sessa just stared at her. _O-kay, I give up. She's totally nuts and I've walked through the rabbit hole into La-La Land. As soon as I get the chance, I'm stealing Appa...or maybe just hitchhiking to the North Pole. I'll talk to Yue and I'm going to tell her to send me home. This is insane, I'm in a cartoon! The fish are poisonous and the people are crazy. Maybe the fish is what's making them crazy?_

Katara interrupted her rambling thoughts, "Sessa?"

The look in Sessa's eyes was slightly less than enthusiastic, in fact, she suddenly seemed uncomfortable and nervous. "Zuko. You're talking to me about Zuko. What, in the name of all things holy, does Zuko have to do with anything?!"

Without warning, Katara began to laugh, strong and uncontrollably; it was warm and bubbly, like water over rocks in a stream. She didn't know where it came from, but it felt good. Like some kind of release from all the pressure and stress she had felt over the past few weeks; Sessa's sudden appearance had made it peak but it had also given her the chance she needed to get everything she had kept inside off of her chest.

"That's my problem" she giggled wiping tears from her eyes.

Sessa blinked at the girl._ Okay...I'm either drugged up in a white padded room somewhere and this is all one freaky dream; or this is real and she's the insane one; or...or this is real in which case I have no idea what in the world is going on, and she's serious. It seems like the last one, but just in case, I really hope it's not number one. _

Sessa waited until Katara was done giggling before she spoke, "Zuko, is the problem? Zuko is the reason you're mad at me?"

Katara nodded as she took a deep calming breath. Which only lasted a second before she began to giggle again. It was ludicrous, the idea that Zuko was the problem, but it was true.

Sessa bit her lip and looked like she was trying to talk to someone speaking a different language, "O-kay. Um, Katara. I have no idea what you're talking about. How is Zuko the problem between you and me?"

Katara smiled her first genuine smile at Sessa, "First of all, I'm not mad at you." At Sessa's unbelieving look, she clarified, "Well not really anyway. The problem is that I think I have a crush on him; and I think he, feels something for you. I don't know what, but it's something."

_I've only known him for like nine hours, what is she talking about??_ Sessa undid her bun and ran a hand through her hair, spilling wild waves of honey over her shoulders that turned golden in the firelight. "Katara, I don't think it's humanly possibly for Zuko to feel anything for me. He's only known me for like a day. Not even, since I was unconscious for most of it; and to top it off, he knows nothing about me." The confusion and humor had gone out of her eyes and was replaced with a lost look as she continued to talk about what Katara had brought up.

"And as for my bending, it took me just over six months in the Spirit World to learn both water and firebending, and that was when I was being taught by an Avatar. It wasn't easy. Any skill you think I have came from training almost all day, everyday with Roku and Yue, so that I could get here and help you."

Katara glanced down, away from the deep blue eyes that seemed to see through her, she felt ashamed to have been so cold and mean to someone she hadn't known. She had been judgmental and jealous for no reason other than her own silly insecurities.

Sessa reached over tentatively and gently touched Katara's shoulder, "So what is it you feel for him? Are you in love with him or just rockin' a serious crush?"

Katara's eyes widened and she gaped at the other girl, "No" she squeaked, "I'm _not_ in love with him. I think just have a crush on him. But I also have feeling for Aang. It's confusing; they are so different and yet, kind of the same. With Aang, I know how he feels and I know I care about him, but I don't know if I love him yet. With Zuko...he's different, he's temperamental and distant and...I don't know, there's just something about him that pulls at me. I'm so confused."

Sessa grinned at her, "Oh yea, I know that feeling. I think every girl on the planet has known that feeling. In my world, Zuko is for you what we call a bad boy, and I think maybe you want to be the one to tame him. I know I felt that way about a guy once...it did not end well."

Katara laughed at her, the anger and frustration melted away the more she talked with Sessa, _there's just something about her that makes things seem okay_, she wondered to herself.  
"What's a bad boy?" she asked, curious about what it meant.  
'Well, for us it's a guy who breaks the rules and has a bit of an edge to him, he's not always the kind you would bring home to meet your family, but you want to be the one he falls for and decides to change for." Sadness had crept into Sessa's eyes as she watched the fire dance, and Katara knew that Sessa must have had a bad experience when she said it hadn't ended well.

"Yea, I think that's a good way of describing it" agreed Katara.  
A thought crossed Sessa's mind as she looked at the girl next to her, "Katara, if you think you have feelings for him why don't you tell him? You never know what he'll say. But I think you'd need to be sure about it, cus I think Aang has really deep feelings for you."

Katara sobered and a whimsical smile played across her mouth as she looked into the fire while she answered, "I don't think I'll ever tell him, because I've always hoped that if I told him how I felt, he'd look at me the way he looked at you when he laid you down in the tent. And I don't think that will happen. I think I know, deep down that Zuko will never have those kinds of feelings for me; and like you said, Aang really cares about me, and I care about him, I'm just...being silly I guess "

Sessa didn't know what to say to that, especially since she didn't know how Zuko had looked at her; she wasn't really sure she could say anything that wouldn't sound absurd.

"You're not being silly," she said in a soft voice, "it's never silly to feel things for people, even if they won't feel the same. We can't help how we feel. But you should think about it, and see what you really want out of any guy you want to consider being with."

Katara said nothing as she took in what Sessa had told her, and she agreed with her. She knew that if she was honest with herself, she would choose Aang, they had been through so much together, and she was just trying to hide from it. _Besides, _she told herself, _Zuko is already changing. _She wasn't sure if anyone else had seen it, but she had seen the way he watched Sessa, they way he would act as if he were ignoring her, but when she wasn't aware, he would watch her; as if constantly reassuring himself she was there. _I wonder why..._

They stayed seated like that for a while, soaking up what they had told the other, enjoying the warmth of the fire and just letting go of the emotions that had caused such havoc.

"I'm sorry," Katara said after a time, "I'm sorry I acted so mean, and stupid. I should have given you a chance before I judged you. I was just..."  
"Being an emotional teenager?" Sessa smiled warmly at her, "don't worry about it." She shrugged, "Besides, I think I would have been more surprised if you hadn't been a little territorial."  
"How do you do that?" Katara wondered out loud, "How do you take everything in stride and stay so relaxed?"  
Sessa thought about it a moment, "I guess I'm just kind of used to it, my life was always changing when I was little, so I just kind of learned to let things go and not really let them get to me."  
Katara relaxed and smiled back, "So, friends then?" she asked hopefully.  
"Yea, I'd really like that."

"Well it's about time!" yelled Sokka from the other side of the fire.

Both girls snapped their head up and gaped at the rest of the group standing on the edge of camp, each one with a grin that spread from ear to ear, with the exception of Zuko who had a pensive look on his face.

_Oh god,_ thought Katara and Sessa simultaneously, _I hope they didn't hear everything!_  
"Can we eat now? I'm starving!" groaned Toph as they joined the two girls by the fire.  
Katara and Sessa both laughed at her, "Sure" smiled Katara, "we just have to cook the food first".


	8. Dreams and Embers

After they had cooked and eaten a wonderful dinner of skewered meat, nuts, and fruit; they sat around the fire and began to talk. After much persuasion from Sokka and the others, Sessa told them stories of her world. Of the buildings and skyscrapers, trains and cars, people and places. She told them the story of how she and her sisters had met, and what training in the Spirit World had been like.

Suki eagerly accepted her invitation to train together the way Roku had suggested, and Toph smirked evilly as she began plotting how she would help them train without the use of sight. She figured that the best way to do it would be to mimic the way she had done it with Aang when he learned earthbending, just blindfold them and see what they could do.

As the first drops of evening rain began to fall, they slowly rose and went off into their individual earth tents for what they all expected to be a relaxing night, after what had to be the longest day. For everyone but Sessa, the night would pass peacefully. She paused outside the entrance to her tent and turned to look up into the tree across from her at the only one who was not going to sleep. Zuko, had first watch tonight.

"Goodnight Zuko." She knew he could hear her, but he didn't answer; and his hood was up again making it impossible for her to even tell if he was looking at her. "Thank you, by the way, for everything."

He said nothing, but watched her as she walked into her tent.  
``````````````

The dream was different this time. She knew it the moment she looked around the red and gold hall. An instant later, she had been swept up in the emotions of it and was once again living in its hell.

_The throne room, _she thought to herself worriedly, she hadn't meant to come here, the palace was enormous and she had gotten lost; but she had to find what she was looking for. Something important. _Where the hell do I go? I have no idea-_  
His voice interrupted her.

"Se-ssa", he was calling her, like a quiet whisper on an absent wind, so quiet she wasn't even sure she had actually heard him speak, or if her mind was so freaked out already that she had imagined it. The fear and adrenaline that pooled in her stomach made her feel like she was drunk; nothing made sense, and yet she understood everything that was happening. She spun around desperately searching for the figure she knew was there, hiding in the darkness of the shadows.

When she finally found him, his dark silhouette was leaning against one of the many poles scattered about the room. The sight of his faceless, black figure sent a wave of panic through her, and as she watched him approach, the fear and hate that had been starting to build inside her, rippled out through her until every inch of her trembled with emotion. She despised him. She knew she had leave, that she had had to get away, or she would die...she just couldn't get her feet to cooperate.

"Sessa," He repeated as he slowly stalked toward her; every bit of him a trained and deadly predator. His voice was barely audible, but in the quiet emptiness of the room, it reached her as if he were standing right beside her. He tilted his head to one side as he studied her and came closer still. But she still tried to defy him; for every step he took forward she took two back. Silently she sent up a prayer to any god or goddess that would listen to help her find an escape. Her body screamed at her to run, to run in any direction so long as it was away from him, but she was unwilling to take her eyes off of him for even a moment to find the exit.  
_Think, Sessa, think! There was another entrance here, you saw it in the episode when Ursa disappeared. Where is it? _Panic surged through her as she realized he was coming closer faster than she was backing up.

His entire body was completely surrounded by shadows, a result of the fire that danced along the walls behind him; but she didn't need to see his face to know who he was or that he watching her. It was a sick and deadly dance they were performing and the longer it continued the more she came to a single terrifying conclusion.

_He's playing with me_, she thought angrily as she kept moving back to keep the distance between them. So long as there was distance between them, she could fool herself into believing she would survive this. But she knew the truth, he was a cold, merciless predator playing with his prey before he tore it apart, and in this particular situation, she was the prey.

Without warning, a wall pressed hard against her back, it's cold unyielding force stopping her suddenly and offering no shelter or protection; panic and surprise swept through her, "Oh shit," she breathed, nearly hysterical as realization struck her, _I'm trapped._

_Screw distance, _her mind screamed. She tore her eyes away from him ad began looking around for a way out, she felt her hope die; he was blocking the only exit she could find. Her only chance of survival was directly behind him, and as far as she was concerned, he was as impenetrable as Fort Knox. Glancing back at him to make sure there was still some distance between them, her heart thudded to a stop when she realized that he was no longer across the room; he was right in front of her. Her gasp of surprise died in her throat as she tired desperately to maintain composure. Steadying herself mentally, she forced herself to control her breath for fear of making the slightest sound; and as he drew upon her, she had no choice but to stare helplessly into the raging pools of molten gold she knew were his eyes.

"Tsk. Tsk. Sessa". He murmured as he stepped ever closer. They were all but touching now. "I warned you. There is no chance of defeating me, no hope. You've failed." He reached up and tucked a strand of flyaway hair behind her ear, "And now, for your foolishness, you must pay the price."

She couldn't see his face as he told her all this, even though he was right in front of her, but she was sure he was smiling. There was a sick something in his voice that told her he was enjoying this game he was playing. She leveled her violet-blue gaze at him and glared all her anger and hatred at him. There was no more fear. Only racing adrenaline. She defiantly raised her chin at him, making sure she showed him she was not afraid...even though she was sure he could hear her heart beating madly in her chest. She refused to give him the gratification of knowing he had scared her.

She spoke with more courage than she felt, "You think you've won, but you haven't. Zuko will beat you. He is more powerful, and more of a man than you ever were! When he takes his place on the throne, _no one_ will remember you!" she spat on his face and his laughter filled the empty hall.

Fury hit her hard, and without thinking, she brought her right knee up hard into his groin; satisfaction made her smile evilly as she watched surprise flash across his eyes as his body went limp. Without waiting another moment, she forced her legs to run at full speed in the direction of the heavy double doors, but before she made it ten feet, and iron like grip caught her about the wrist and whipped her back around into a solid wall of stone.

Tiny black spots danced about her vision as her mind screamed in protest at the pain. The man slammed her hard against the wall again, railing her body with pain. She couldn't breathe, one more hit to the head and she would slip into the wonderful darkness of unconsciousness.

"You think," he fumed at her, his voice rough and harsh, "that miserable failure will be able to do anything? He's weak!" shouted her assailant, "And when he sees what I have done to you, he will lose any chance he had of winning." There was a moment's pause, "I supposed I should thank you for that." he hissed.

He let his eyes show her that sick, twisted smile of his as his right hand reached up and grasped her neck. She had nowhere to run, and even if she tried to fight him now, it would only take him a moment to accomplish his goal. Her body was too weak to fight back, as little by little he applied pressure until he was sure he was choking her. She felt panic rise from deep inside as her life giving air supply was slowly cut off, but despite this, she refused to show him what he wanted, _I will not let you have any of the satisfaction you want from this, _she thought bitterly to herself. The moment she saw him raise his left hand, her eyes widened in horror as the full realization of his intentions hit her. An instant later a twisted smile graced his lips before yellow-gold fire erupted from his outstretched hand and engulfed her.

Her scream resounded off the walls of the hall.  
`````````````

Sessa flew off her pillow with a gasp, her body shaking with fear. Sweat glistened off every part of her exposed skin in the pale light of the fire outside. The black and white penguin tee shirt and black pants she had brought from home clung to her like second skin; and her hair, wild and mused was plastered to her face. She took in ragged breaths of cool night air in an attempt to calm herself, but the fear and adrenaline continued to pump through her veins as if she were still in the midst of the dream. Before she could stop herself, warm, salty tears slipped down her cheeks like miniature streams and off her chin.

The oppressive darkness inside her earth tent felt like it was slowly crushing her, sending tremors down her back as the fresh memory of her dream assaulted her. Choking on a sob, she threw off her blanket and scrambled outside, eager to be in an open space surrounded by light.

No one was outside, and while she normally preferred solitary silence to loud boisterous crowds, at this particular moment in time she would have given anything to be among friends. The leftover fear from the dream had made her wary of the shadows cast about by the dim firelight but for now she preferred it dark shadows where anything could linger about. _You're being paranoid,_ the sensible part of her brain told her, _better to be paranoid than get caught unaware,_ the evil part of it retorted. She ran a hand through her hair desperate for some way to relieve the tension. She knew bending some fire would help, but if it got out of hand, she didn't want to have to wake anyone up just to help her put it out. Without thinking about it, she began to pace back and forth, but upon remembering that Toph could hear the quietest sounds through the ground, she gingerly walked to the edge of camp and began to walk its perimeter, careful to always remain within sight of the fire.

Zuko sat silently in the tree he had chosen as a lookout point, watching the stars shoot across the sky and listening to the night whisper its secrets as the others slept. He had been on watch for nearly four hours, and had not heard a single unusual sound. _So bored, _Only his thoughts had kept him company during the uneventful night. However they had just begun to wander when the sudden sound of crunching of grass beneath him brought him back to the present, _No!_ No one should have been able to come so close to camp, even if his mind had begun to wander. He narrowed his gaze in the direction of the sound and waited until the footsteps were directly below him before he dropped silently out of the trees ready to battle whoever was foolish enough to try and attack them.

"Oh, Shit!" Sessa swore out loud when Zuko landed in front of her with a fire ball at the ready; reacting on instinct, she pulled water from the grass and threw out a handful of ice spikes which he barely managed to dodge before they impaled the tree behind him.

Instantly realizing his mistake, he called out to stop her but she couldn't hear him over the thundering of her heart in her ears, ignoring his "Wait! Stop!" she jumped up into a nearby tree and disappeared from his view.

_What the hell is going on?_ He thought frantically, listening to the subtle movements of the leaves to see where she had gone, he had just begun to turn when a sudden kick to his back sent him flying forward. He managed to stop himself from falling completely, and spun around in time to see her use a low tree branch as a way to swing herself up onto into a crouching position.

The deadly glare in her almost black eyes surprised him, he would never have guessed she was capable of such a look; she was no longer the gentle, warm girl he'd found sick in the woods, in this moment, she was a lethal fighter, planning her next move. It was then Zuko did something he would never have thought himself capable of, he relaxed his stance, raised his hands and slowly approached her.

It took her a full count of five to realize what was happening; the person she had thought was her attacker was actually not an attacker at all. In fact, he was quite the opposite, and with his hands raised looking at her like he she imagined he would have looked at a crazy wild animal, she felt like an idiot.

"Zuko?" her voice was soft and lost quickly in the depth of the night, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING? You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she shouted as quietly as she could while dropping down from the tree branch.

He cringed before he got angry, "What was I doing? What were you doing? I could have killed you!"  
She raised an eyebrow at him and glared, "I'm sure," she answered drolly, "And I was taking a walk."  
His eyes turned a deadly molten gold at that casual statement; for some annoying reason, the idea of her walking about at night, alone, pissed him off. "Are you crazy? Why would you do that?"  
Her eyes had returned to that deep ocean blue, "None of your business".  
His temper snapped, "It is if I nearly attacked you!".  
"You'll just think it's stupid", she huffed, suddenly very tired. She didn't feel like arguing with the only person awake, especially if they were a way to keep the shadows at bay.

His gaze softened slightly as he studied her; she was paler than normal, but that could be due to lack of light, her honey hair fell around her wild waves mused by a restless night, but it was her eyes that held his attention...they seemed to glow with an inner light as she thought about telling him whatever had brought her out at such a late hour.

His voice was quiet when he spoke, "I won't think it's stupid; trust me, I've heard some pretty crazy stuff." _Okay,_ he thought, _that didn't come out the way I wanted it to._

Sessa ran her hand though her hair again, forcing the waves to tumble around her even more as she settled herself enough to tell him what was bothering her. When she felt calm enough, she walked over to the side of the fire knowing he would follow. When they were seated, she raised a finger and sent a small stream of fire into the wood to make it burn brighter. While she spoke, recounting every detail she could remember everything from her dreams, Zuko could only think one thing, _Her? She's the one I've been dreaming about? What does this even mean?_ His brows furrowed as she finished and he got lost in his own thoughts as they raced through his mind about what this meant, _I need Uncle._

"Zuko?" she was watching him, worry shining at him in the firelight, "Have you ever had dreams like that?"

He made up his mind instantly, _I won't tell her anything until I know what this means._ He kept his face straight as he lied, "No".

"Oh. Yea, I must be a nutcase then." She sighed.

They sat in silence only a moment longer before Sokka came out of hit tent yawning, he rubbed his eyes sleepily and nodded at Zuko. Without a word the exiled prince rose and disappeared into his tent.

"Aren't you going to go to sleep?" mumbled Sokka as he warmed himself by the fire to wake up for his shift of watch. Sessa stared into the fire, letting its warmth curl around her and seep into her until it had eased away her worries and the nightmare was nothing more than an all but forgotten memory. "No. I think I'll stay up." She smiled at him. Five minutes later he was snoring, lost in his own dreams for the night.

When the others finally awoke just after daybreak, Sessa had already washed and peeled the fruit they would eat for breakfast while Sokka studied a map to decide what their next move would be. While the others were oblivious to the shadows under her deep blue eyes, Zuko noticed them, and he knew she had stayed awake, but he didn't say a word. While he may have fought caring about this girl, they were tied together in one way, and until he understood why, he would keep a close eye on her.

After breakfast, they talked their options over and it was unanimously decided they would head the Fire Lord's abandoned home on Ember Island. Quickly cleaning up camp and excited to prepare for the ever approaching battle they boarded Appa and left.  
````````````

The nearby figure that watched the sky from the safety of its cloak, waited until the bison had long been out of sight before removing a piece of parchment from their bag and relaying the message. Working quickly they rolled up the message, tied it in a black ribbon and placed it in the carrying pouch of the messenger hawk, with a cry it took flight and headed off in the direction of the bison.

_To Ember Island,_ smiled the person. Turning, they began the long walk back to the village to pick up their Komodo Rhino for the ride back to the Fire Nation.


	9. Being Nice

When Appa finally landed on Ember Island it was just past noon, on what had to be the most beautiful day Sessa had so far experienced in this world. The sun was warm and bright above them in a brilliant summer blue cloudless sky. On the ground wild fire lilies, honeysuckle, jasmine, roses and other flowers she couldn't name bloomed all along the gardens, creating a divine scent that surrounded them as the trees danced happily in the breeze. The perfumed air intoxicated her, without a doubt, of all the places she'd seen in both her world and the Avatar's, she liked this one the best._ If I'm not in heaven then I hope this is what it looks like. _She smiled in awe_. You guys would love this so much._ Her thoughts took her to the sisters she'd left behind and she wondered what they were doing at this moment. _I miss you guys so much. I hope you're okay._ Any homesickness she would have felt was stopped there though, when Katara called to her to help her unload Appa's saddle.

Much to Aang's dismay, while Sessa and Katara unloaded their cargo and Toph, Suki and Sokka went off to check out the house, he was forced to practice his firebending moves with Zuko. Normally he loved training and learning new things, but right now he really just wanted to relax and unwind, _Maybe explore a little, _he grinned to himself, but Zuko would never let him get away with it; even when he wasn't around, the older boy was giving him homework. _Ugh sometimes being the Avatar sucks!_ Making a face at the idea of homework, he barely dodged the fireball Zuko had thrown at him, _Monkey feathers!_ Glaring at the glaring boy across from him, he took up a stronger stance and focused, if he wanted time to play, he would have to make sure he got this done right.

As the two boys practiced their bending, Toph and Suki joined Katara and Sessa as they sat on the steps talking, and told them about the rooms. Without waiting for the boys to finish, they went off to lay claim to their new bedrooms.

Walking through the abandoned home Sessa was struck by its beauty, even though it was currently overrun with cobwebs and dust. It reminded her of the old houses she'd seen on trips with her parents to Europe and the East Coast of the US, old manors and mansions that were beautiful, elegant and no longer appreciated. _Although some of them were a little over the top,_ she reminded herself. Not surprisingly, none of the bedroomswere at the front of the house, they were tucked away down a long corridor that ran along the back of the house, near the gardens; each one with different breathtaking views overlooking the ocean, cliffs, grassy fields or distant mountains.

She found it rather cute that without even trying, each of the girls had chosen rooms close to each other, only a few doors away and across the hall from one another. Katara had chosen the first room she walked into, which happened to be next to Suki's and was directly across the hall from what would be Toph's room.

Katara had chosen a room with only sweeping views of the crystalline water and sky; Suki, one with views that spanned only of the garden and trees; while Toph's had spectacular views of the far away grassy plains and mountains. _Their rooms suit their tastes and elements,_ chuckled Sessa, she wondered if they were even aware of it.

Since none of the rooms had been used for years, every piece of furniture was covered in a white sheet. Moving through each room, Katara and Sessa worked quickly to remove and fold each of the white sheets while Toph earthbended all of the dust out the windows Suki opened. When they were finished, they went through and made a list of what each room needed. They needed a lot.

After they had finished with the other girls' rooms, Sessa went to find hers, and just like them, she knew the one she would take the moment she saw it.

It was at the end of the hall, tucked into a corner, while it wasn't overly large or spacious like the others, it felt safe and homey; exactly the way she liked it. There was a large bed in the middle, with four wood-carved posts and a canopy of sheer red and gold silk hanging down the sides. It was the main feature of the room, but it was her view that helped her make her choice. The large windows looked out into a stunning private garden and beyond it, the ever blue ocean and its sandy beach. She managed to look away from it long enough to notice there was a small desk with an engraved mirror and its very own chair against the left wall, as well as a bureau against the far wall for clothes.

After she had put away all the clothes she'd had in her small bag, she removed the small gilded, gold mirror and looked out the window and sighed. She still had nearly two weeks to go before the full moon, _I wish I could talk to you guys, you wouldn't believe how beautiful it is here. _She walked over to the small desk and set the mirror on top, she would just have to wait until the full moon before she could call her sisters. _I know it's only been two days, but it feels like a lifetime. I wonder if this is what Yue meant about the time difference._ When she was done putting what little she had away, she left to find the others.

They were in the kitchen giggling as they watched Sokka search through the kitchen for the one thing he wanted most. Food. However he was quick to discover that there was none. The cabinets and pantries were bare. His stomach made sure its complaint was heard as it rumbled loudly.

"Hungry already?" laughed Suki as she watched his face drop in disappointment.  
"Yes! But there's nothing to eat here" he sniffed.  
"Why don't we go to the market then?" asked Sessa, leaning against the door frame, she was dying to go poke around the city and see what it was like. _Getting groceries is the perfect excuse_!  
She smiled happily at the other girls, "I mean, why don't we girls go? It'll be fun" she said looking at them, "like a bonding thing. And we won't have to worry about the guys."  
Toph just raised an eyebrow, "Me, do bonding? You don't know me very well, do you?" she teased, but despite her sarcasm, she agreed, she wanted to get to know this other girl.  
Katara and Suki agreed with large, eager smiles and Sokka just moaned.  
"Fine. But HURRY! I'm starving!"  
"Sokka, you're always starving" laughed Katara.  
He made a face at his sister, but they all laughed at the truth in that statement before they headed out to the courtyard to inform the other two of their decision.  
````````

Zuko and Aang had nearly identical expressions when they heard the girls' plan, they were not happy. Sessa grinned to herself while trying not to look like she was about to laugh her head off at their angry glowers, _Those two are more alike than they realize._ Neither one of them wanted the girls to go out into the city without them; after all, they were in Fire Nation territory now, who knew what kind of danger could be lurking around the corner. Annoyed, Suki, Katara, Toph and Sessa each made a valid point about being perfectly capable to protect themselves, as well as blending in perfectly with their clothes.

"And besides," smiled Suki evilly, "we love you guys, but we deserve a little time to ourselves. We need girl time."  
Zuko and Aang looked at each other, and agreed to the same thing, there was no argument with that.  
"Okay, okay." Aang mumbled, "but don't stay gone too long."  
Katara sent him a look that would have melted steel, "Wouldn't dream of it" she smiled angelically.  
Aang, Sokka and Zuko, just stared at them, looking like the world's most put upon martyrs.

They had just entered the main section of the downtown market when an unwelcome thought struck Suki and she turned to the others, "We have to go back."  
"What, why?" asked Katara completely surprised by the statement.  
"We don't have any money." She answered, looking glum.  
"Yes we do." Smiled Sessa, "Roku and Yue gave me quite a lot in case I needed anything, so we're covered" she held up her bag and shook it a little so they could hear it jingle.  
Toph hit her on the arm, "Alright! Now let's get going before they decide to follow us."  
They grinned at each other as they walked over to the first stand they saw.  
````````````

Zuko paced back and forth in his old room, emotions tossing through him as the windows overlooking the ocean and its bluffs began to show the first changes in sunlight as the sun began its nightly fall. It had been nearly three hours since Katara, Suki and Toph had returned from town an hour and a half after they had left, laden with baskets full of groceries and bags full of who knows what; but Sessa had not been with them. Before Aang and Sokka had had a chance to freak out, Katara had calmed them by saying that Sessa had wanted to poke around some more and explore the town and beach but had promised not to be gone very late.  
While he may not have liked it, Suki had made a very good point when she reminded them that there was virtually no danger on the island as only wealthy and elite families vacationed here. Any other comments or protest were nipped in the bud, when the girls unanimously left for their rooms to put away the new clothes and other small trinkets they had bought. Of which there was a lot.

_Still, _he thought angrily, _that girl doesn't pay attention to anything; she made herself sick with fish! Who does that! _He paused as he remembered Uncle had once confused a flower used for tea with a deadly poison. He let out a roar of frustration at the ceiling, _Who knows what kind of trouble she could get into here. She's too nice...and..._his thoughts took a dark turn when he realized that most of the elite families all had at least one son. _WHY DO I CARE?_ He fumed mentally. But despite his fury at the unwelcome thought, it continued to plague him. He knew first hand that most of the high class girls in the Fire Nation were nothing like Sessa, and with her light wavy hair, kind demeanor and easy smile, she would have no trouble attracting attention. _Like moths to a flame. _He frowned bitterly. _  
_  
Hot, unexpected jealousy swept through him at the idea of any one of them flirting with her. It infuriated him that he was feeling this way when he should have only felt it for Mai, like he had when he'd come here with her, Ty Lee and Azula months ago. _Damn it! This is ridiculous! _He swore to rational part of him acknowledged that he was being asinine for worrying about her, but the emotional, and at the moment, much more forceful part of it, was reminding him of what had happened in his dream, and the inexplicable urge he felt to protect her. _  
_  
Sighing, he turned to face himself in the mirror against the opposite wall. There was no mistaking the anger and worry etched on his face, no matter how out of place it was. His hair was mused from repeatedly running his hands through it as he paced about the spacious room, and his gold eyes burned intensely with emotion. He'd never felt like this before, and he didn't like it. He'd only known the newcomer for two days, but it felt like she'd always been a part of his life, there was no denying the connection he felt. And that, if anything is what annoyed him most. In two days he'd begun to feel things for this girl he barely knew, things he should have only felt for Mai. He groaned, _So help me, I'm not going to go there. I'm not going to keep thinking about this._ He walked over to his large bed and flopped down on it, burying his face in the large pillow, hoping for some kind of respite from the confusing emotions tumbling about inside him.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky outside was now a sunless, moonlit navy blue, and the air that entered through his open windows was warm and scented heavily with the flowers that bloomed nightly in the garden.

Blinking to remove the sleep from his eyes, he inhaled a deep, calming breath and rose silently. Glancing around, he took in his room and noticed that a new set of towels had been placed on the settee in the far corner by the bathroom. Taking advantage of them, he entered his private bathroom and indulged himself in a quick, warm bath to release the tumultuous emotions that had gathered inside him during the afternoon. Once he had dried off and changed into a fresh set of clothes, he went to find the others.

All but one, were found sitting in the kitchen eating warm sweet bread as they talked about their plans for the following months. Plans that involved firebending training for both Aang and the absent member, hand to hand training for all of them, and multiple visits to the beach and downtown; since, according to Sokka, they still had plenty of time to prepare for the comet. Just over three months.

Toph answered Zuko's question before he even had a chance to ask it, "Yes, Sessa's back. She brought back tons of new things for this place so that we wouldn't have to use anything if you didn't want us to."  
Katara with an apple in her hand looked over at him, "We even cleaned this place up a bit".  
"Um...Thanks?"  
Toph took a bite out of bread, "Personally I like a bit of dust, but the babies here said they needed a cleaner place to live in."  
"Oh. Yea" he didn't really know what to say.  
"Hungry?" smiled Sokka, "You slept through dinner, but there's tons of food". He was beaming from ear to ear.  
"Which is surprising, considering how much you ate." Laughed Toph.  
"Ha-ha good one Toph!" laughed Aang.  
"No thanks. I'm not that hungry." Mumbled Zuko.  
"Sessa's in her room if you were looking for her?" Suki's blue-green eyes watched him intently, as if she were seeing right into his soul.  
"I wasn't."

Without another word, he picked up a roll of sweet bread and went to look for her. He walked quietly through the house until light under the last bedroom door down the hall caught his attention. He was silent in his approach and could hear the rustling about of someone inside, raising his hand he rapped sharply on the door.

"It's open!" she called.

Entering, he found her sitting cross legged on her bed, liquid honey spilled over her shoulders as she bent over something in her lap. She looked up from what she was doing, and smiled at him.  
"Hey! How'd you sleep?"  
Ignoring her question, he closed the door behind him and glared at her. "What were you thinking?"  
Surprise flashed across her face and was quickly replaced with confusion; her smile vanished. "I'm sorry?"  
His temper flashed hot that she didn't even know what he was upset about, _Although, I really don't have much of a reason to be angry._ His upset thoughts only made him more annoyed, but he managed to clamp down enough to speak, "What were you thinking? Going off alone? And staying out so late? Don't you know it's not safe? Or don't you care?" his voice was hard and sharp. _Why is this making me so angry?_

A delicate eyebrow rose, and her eyes darkened in defiance. "I was thinking I wanted to go poke around town and that we needed things for the house since it's obvious no one has been here in quite awhile." She glared back, "I didn't know I needed your permission."

His eyes widened a moment before he narrowed them at her. "You don't."  
She got off the bed and walked toward him, "Then why are you acting like I do? Coming in here and questioning with me about it?" her own temper was spiking and it showed in the way her skin flushed as she looked up at him.

"Because. It's not safe." He snapped back, glaring down at her.

He was fighting with her. Not exactly what he had wanted or planned to do, but the emotions that had been bubbling inside him from worrying earlier in the day when the girls had left, now it seemed they were about to burst out of him.

_Who does he think he is?_ She wondered, furious at his overbearing attitude. "I can take care of myself, Zuko."  
His control snapped, "Oh yea? That's _so_ obvious, since when we first met you were barely conscious and nearly dying from food poisoning!" he shot at her.  
Her eyes widened, "Oh! Well ex-cu-se me for not knowing how to cook seafood! I've never been here before! I'm not exactly a Top Chef in fish cuisine!" she yelled.  
"Well that's why you shouldn't go wandering off alone!" he yelled.  
"What's it to you?" Normally she was a very calm, laid back person, but he was managing to set off all her buttons. "We're in a safe place. An island, for goodness sake; with precooked food so you don't have to worry about that! And I am perfectly capable of handling myself in a tight spot, as you well now!" she poked him in the chest.

Without thinking, his hand caught her finger and he stared down at her angry and silent; not only were they fighting, but she was winning. Molten gold glared into midnight blue.

"Besides!" she continued, "I was trying to be nice and get things to use around here so we wouldn't end up using anything of yours you didn't want us to use!"  
"Well who asked you to?" he growled.  
She gaped at him. "No one! I was trying to be nice!"  
"Why?" he asked, anger making his voice loud. _This has to be the most ridiculous fight I've ever been in!_  
"Because I'm a nice person!" she snapped. She pulled her hand out of his and tried not to notice how close they were.  
"Well don't be!"

At that, she napped her mouth shut to avoid saying something she would regret later; growling mentally, she bit her lip, glared at him and left him to sit on the bed. Distance, seemed like a good idea. _One, two, three, four...just count to ten. Get to ten, before you go nuts. _She repeated to herself, working hard to get a grip on her emotions; he was, after all, just trying to look out for her. _Not to mention he saved my life and he's a prince, and for god's sake I shouldn't be arguing with people the first few days I meet them! What would mom say?_ At the memory of her mother, the anger vanished, and she let herself feel the pain she knew would always be there.

When she spoke again her voice was quieter and she wasn't looking at him, "Is that seriously why you came here? To argue about being nice and not being safe?"  
When she finally did look at him for an answer, her eyes were stormy and dark, but in them he could see pain reflecting in them. _Damn it! I didn't mean to hurt her. Agh! Why doesn't anything ever come out right around her?_

He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath, letting it fill him as it chased away the unreasonable anger.

"No," his voice was softer as he walked over and sat down next to her, "I'm sorry. I was just worried."  
The look she sent him would have made a lesser man flinch. "Again, I ask you, about what?"

A part of him wanted to confide in her, to tell her that he felt a connection to her, that he'd dreamed almost exactly the same thing she had, and that he had an unexplainable urge to protect her. That he was worried their dreams were a warning, especially since he could clearly remember the panic he'd felt when he watched her die. But the part that was used to being alone and independent wasn't able to and he wouldn't be until he'd spent more than just two days with her.

"Nothing I guess." He stood up and ran a hand through his hair. "Um, tomorrow we should probably go over your firebending." Without waiting for her to respond, he got up and walked out of the room.

Sessa sat there, gaping after him feeling like she'd been run over by a big rig, _What the hell was all that about?_ Moaning out loud, she flopped back onto her bed and stared up at the canopy ceiling, _What have I gotten myself into?_ She wondered as she slapped a hand across her eyes.

When her eyes opened again, she groaned. She'd fallen asleep and had slept straight through the night, now early sunrise was shining through her windows. _I guess I was super tired. I re-ally hope, that thing with Zuko was just one really twisted dream. Otherwise...nope, no, not going to think about it. Not going to think about him...at all. Yea...RIGHT. _She glared at her rumpled reflection andshaking it off, hurried into her private bath for a quick shower, and changed into fresh clothes. When she felt clean and awake, she went off to find the others. None of them were awake.

_Odd. Oh well, maybe I can go for a quick walk along the beach before the overbearing one wakes up. OH! I wonder..._Grinning to herself as an idea popped into her head, she dashed back to her room to write a quick note and slipped it under Katara's door as she silently slipped through the halls. _Katara is most definitely the mother figure in our special little group_.

As she walked along the beach collecting seashells, she reveled in the solitude it offered her. With it, she felt safe, free and as if she were once again at home, _Without paranoid Princes and crazy Fire Lords_ she smiled. _There is nothing in the world, the ocean can't wash away._ _Well, almost one..._she pushed away the memory of her parents and focused on finding the most beautiful shells she could. They would make great keepsakes. Thinking back on the night before, she had to admit that seeing Zuko so angry had surprised and angered her; but it had also warmed a deep part of her. She frowned, _Oh god, Sessa don't you dare!_ She lectured herself, _don't you dare get a crush on him! He's a cartoon! Katara kind of likes him, and...and...HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND for cripes sake! _

Glaring at the laughing birds above her she sent a pwerful flare of fire out over the rolling waves. "I am one SERIOUSLY screwed up person, aren't I?" she asked its murmur.

"Well, I think that depends on who you ask" laughed the voice behind her.

Spinning around, she watched as Suki, smiling brightly at her, took the last few steps to join her.

"Suki? What are you doing up so early?"  
Suki shrugged, "I'm almost always up this early. I'm surprised you are though. How'd you sleep?"  
She laughed, last night had been absurd, "I have no idea, I think I just kind of passed out."  
"Yea, you're likfe seems to be a little intense." Her sparkling, friendly eyes made Sessa feel like she was back home, safe and talking with an old friend; not someone she'd only really met the other day.  
"Something like that. Did you hear us?"  
Suki smiled gently, "Unless you want me to know, I don't know what you're talking about."  
Sessa laughed, it was the only thing she could do in such a frustrating situation. Watching the other girl carefully, she made up her mind, took a deep breath of cool sea air, and as they walked down the beach collecting shells, began to talk.

Back at the house, gold eyes watched the two girls and their owner pinched the bridge of his nose. As a firebender, his feelings were often intense and passionate, and right now, they were the last thing he wanted to deal with. Especially if they had anything to do with her. _Distance, _though Zuko, _I need to keep my distance._

When they girls came back, laughing and smiling, laden with shells, they set about helping the others in the kitchen prepare for breakfast and the first real day together. And so, as time began to pass, they fell into a comfortable and familiar rhythm.

Early each morning, the four girls would walk along the beach talking and collecting shells before going back to the house to meet the guys for breakfast. They would eat together before Aang, Sessa and Zuko practiced and honed their firebending, Suki and Sokka trained in hand to hand combat, while Katara and Toph sparred. Every few hours, they would rotate, continuing their training until lunch when they were all exhausted and hardly able to stand. In the warmth of the afternoon sun, while the others slept or spent time alone with their thoughts, Sessa would wander the gardens, poke around town and let her mind wander and play with fantasies and dreams. Most of which happened to involve the one person who seemed intent on keeping her at a distance. _Zuko;_ who acted as if she were the last thing on earth he wanted to be near. The only words she managed to get out of him were critiques of her firebending, but she refused to let him get to her. There were more important things on her mind, like nightfall.

After every sunset, she, Katara and Aang would test each other's skills with waterbending, and night, Sessa would glance at the moon after dinner and wait. Until finally, the two weeks had passed and the full moon finally rose for the first time.


	10. Late Night Talks

Sitting outside on the steps of the courtyard in the warm night air, listening to the rest of her new "family" plan a trip into town the following day for some festival, Sessa finally felt at ease. It had been nearly three weeks since she'd come here and despite the first rough patches, she was glad she had. Suki, Toph and Katara (after a very long talk about Aang and Zuko) had turned into her best friends and confidants; Sokka and Aang had managed to become what she had always imagined brothers to be like; and Zuko...well, he seemed intent on ignoring her. But even with that, she could no longer fight it; she had a very large, very unavoidable crush on him, and if she didn't watch herself, she would end up falling for him. Hard. _Which would be the biggest mistake __**ever**__ seeing as how I don't think it could even work. I mean come on Sessa! He's a Prince, he has a girlfriend_,_ he's a cartoon...on your favorite TV show, AND I'm pretty sure that right now, for whatever reason, he hates my guts._ she reminded herself for the millionth time that day. _Ugh, _she groaned, rubbing her hand against her temple, _I have to be a masochist, there's no other way to explain my self inflicted torture. _

Frowning at the boy her thoughts seemed to always be preoccupied with lately, she huffed, what she needed right now was some serious advice from Amy; _she always knows what to do. Or Mei, who would tell me to follow my heart...in this case, right into the frying pan. I wish I could see you guys. _Trying to focus again on Suki's campfire story, she shook her head to rid herself of wandering thoughts and glanced up at the night sky; and gasped. Slowly rising above Appa's large, furry head was the first full moon. Shooting up from her seat on the stone steps like someone had lit it on fire, she managed to get out a quick, "'scuse me!" before running from the courtyard and vanishing into the house.

Suki paused mid sentence to stare wide eyed at the retreating back of the girl who had run out of there like the Giant Unagi had magically appeared behind them.  
Toph stared blankly at everyone, "Um...Did I miss something?"  
"No" Katara smiled, enjoying the pull of the moon within her, "Tonight's a full moon".  
"Ooh. Family. Okay." Spitting to the side and lying down, she listened as Suki continued her story of riding elephant koi as part of the Kyoshi Warrior training.

Zuko however, was lost in his own private thoughts and was not paying attention to the story at all; Aang had told them earlier that Sessa looked to the sky every night because she would only be able to contact her family during a full moon. While he was happy she would be able to talk to the people she so obviously loved, he couldn't stop his eyes from narrowing with worry, or the voice whispered to him that maybe her talking to them was a bad idea. A distraction of sorts.

Silently he rose from his seat and slipped back into the house. The others were aware of his absence but said nothing; they had all noticed that since they had arrived on Ember Island, Zuko hardly talked to Sessa anymore, as if he were trying very hard to forget she was there or ignore the fact that she was. Nobody understood it, Suki was by far the most surprised by his change in demeanor, and Katara just gave up trying to figure him out; when she compared his behavior now to when he'd first brought Sessa to camp, it was like he'd been two different people. Even Aang and Sokka had tried on multiple occasions to see what was going on, but the moody firebender always sidestepped the subject. Toph, on the other hand, hadn't bothered him at all, because she had a very strong idea about what was going on and wanted to see how it would play out. So instead of saying anything, she just smirked as Zuko trailed Sessa.

Following the path he'd unconsciously memorized to her room, he paused outside the door and listened; unlike the one night he'd come here, there were no lights or sounds coming from inside to tell him if she was there. This time he had to rely on the sharpened senses and skills his time as the Blue Spirit had taught him. Without making a single sound, he slipped through the partially opened door and immersed himself in the darkness of her room; he crept through it until he reached the door that lead out into her private garden.

_What am I doing? And more importantly, __**why**__? _ He wondered to himself. He had no logical explanation for what he was doing, or why he wanted to hear what she had to say to her family, but he couldn't bring his body to leave. Finding a small nook, just outside the garden entrance, he slipped into the small crevice and let the shadows conceal him.

From his hiding place, he could see her clearly as she bent some water from the little pond in the center of the lush garden into a large ceramic bowl she'd bought on one of her ventures into town. Then, completely unaware of his presence, she removed the gold gilded object he'd seen in her bag when he found her, and placed it gently in the bowl.

_What is she doing?_

As the light of the full moon cast its silver glow over her and the garden, he watched as the water in the bowl began to shimmer, and from it came the ethereal sound of girls' voices.

"Yuki, how could you _do_ that? In front of everyone at school! What if he goes to the cops?" asked Mei, with her back to Sessa and her hands on her hips, sounding worried and angry at the same time; something only she could manage to pull off when very upset.

Worried over what Mei had said, Sessa forgot where she was and spoke as if she were in the living room with them, "What do you mean 'what if he goes to the cops?' Who's going to the cops? Yuki what happened?" her voice was louder and more commanding than she'd meant for it to be, but there was no way to control herself when she was worried.

Mei shrieked and spun around dropping her school books as her large hazel eyes searched the living room for the voice's owner. Yuki's expression, however, was more akin to the look of someone who'd just been caught eating the last cookie in the cookie jar. _More like the cat that ate the canary. _Sessa's temper sparked, when Yuki had that look, something bad had definitely happened.

"Yuki, you had so better tell me what's going on! Or so help me, I will go to the North Pole right now and go home!"  
Yuki flinched at the anger in Sessa's voice, but remained calm. "I can't see you; I don't know where to look."  
"I think you should look at the mirror Yue gave us." Amy answered with a bit of laugh as she came into view. Picking up the mirror she smiled her hello at Sessa as she handed it over to Yuki so they could all see her together.  
"Ses honey, it's really not as bad as Mei is making it out to be" she smiled.

Sessa's expression turned deadly, Amy always tried to play things down to keep her from worrying too much, but this time she wouldn't let it work.

Yuki held up a hand in surrender, "Fine, fine. But you shouldn't get upset about it, especially since you can't do anything about it." She stuck her tongue out at Sessa and grinned evilly.

Sessa waited silently for the answer as she mentally commanded herself to stay calm and keep her eyebrow from raising in annoyance. _Breathe, remember, you love your family...no matter how much you'd like to strangle a particular member. Count to ten...again._

Yuki took a deep breath before meeting the deep blue gaze of her sister's angry expression, "Okay so before you try to kill me, I kind of beat the snot out of that toothpick ex-boyfriend of yours, Kato. Infrontoftheentireclass." She shrugged, slurring the last part together hoping Sessa wouldn't understand. She did.

_In front of the__** entire**__ class? _Sessa had not been expecting that, "You did WHAT?" a ball of fire appeared in her hand and she shook it away, angrily, she did not want to burn down her favorite spot.

"Actually," smiled Amy, ignoring Sessa's anger, "She walked into class with a baseball bat and went at him like he was the devil incarnate. It was really very funny, I've never seen a boy scream like that before. But it may not have been exactly the best time or place for it." She turned her smile to Yuki as she chided her.

"Well what did you expect me to do?" snapped Yuki; she did not like being in trouble with Amy, it was like being scolded by a motherly saint. "The guy attacked Ses outside of work!" she turned her icy blue gaze back to Sessa, "Oh! And thank you for telling me nothing happened, when in fact he HIT you. On the FACE! He's lucky I didn't turn him into a woman! Permanently!" Yuki's light blue eyes were flashing in anger as she remembered the bruise that had been blossoming on her sister's face until Yue had healed her.

Zuko, who had been listening intently from the safety of the nook, felt white hot rage burst through him at the thought of someone laying a hand on her. Using every ounce of control he could muster, he kept himself hidden instead of confronting Sessa and her family about what had happened. Mentally, however, he was playing with imaginary fantasies of what he would do to this Kato person, if he ever had the opportunity. _I'd kill him. Slowly. _His expression was murderous as he stayed put to listen to the rest of the conversation.

Sessa sighed out the breath she'd taken in and ran a hand through her hair, musing it as she spoke, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to get so upset or seem ungrateful, but I just didn't want to you to go and do something crazy...like you apparently did. But, thank you for trying to get back at him for me." She smiled happily at her sisters, "Just don't get into any more trouble, okay?"

When they had all agreed she smiled, happy to be able to talk to them again. "So aside from kicking Kato's ass in school, what else have you guys been up to these past three weeks while I've been over here?"

"Um...Ses," Mei looked at her with surprise, "it's barely been an entire day since you left."  
"What? No way! I've been here almost a month."  
Amy nodded, "Exactly, remember what Yue told us? A year in the Avatar world would barely be three months here. Time is passing by faster for you, and very slowly for us. You left last night, and right now it's barely late afternoon now."

_Well I'm an idiot, _frowned Sessa as she realized she'd forgotten all about that little detail, "Oh yea. I completely forgot about that."  
"But we miss you anyway." Mei smiled instantly making everyone laugh.

Sessa rolled her eyes at her wonderful little sister and agreed. They continued talking for another half hour about school and life in the Avatar world, until Sessa finally sent them to bed so they would get up (or at least try to) at a reasonable hour for school. After they had left, she bended the water back into the pond and removed the mirror. Drying it with the bottom of her shirt, she closed it and stretched. She missed them terribly, but at the same time, she was not nearly as lonely as she would have expected to be. _Probably because everyone here is so wonderful. _Smiling happily at the moon, she whispered a quiet thank you to Yue before going back inside and preparing for bed.

Long after Sessa had blown out the candles in her room and finally gone to sleep, Zuko had still not moved from his place deep within the shadows of her garden. He stayed, unmoving, thinking over everything he had heard, and everything he had felt. He'd expected Sessa to have had a boyfriend or an ex, he had even convinced himself he would be very surprised if she didn't; but he had _not_ been prepared for the anger and jealousy that had come with confirmation. It had felt like someone lighting a low fire in his chest and increasing its intensity until it was almost unbearable. But what had nearly undone him, what was still thundering inside him, was raw fury, like the kind he'd only felt when Uncle had been attacked by Azula in the Earth Kingdom. Knowing that someone had hurt her had brought out the same feelings and emotions only his dreams had been able to do.

Stepping out of the shadows, he stretched his stiff muscles silently before slipping back into her room. As he left, he swore he would do serious damage to this Kato idiot or anyone else who ever hurt her.

When he entered the hall, he debated on a moment of what to do; _I need to talk to someone,_ making up his mind he walked a few doors down and knocked lightly.  
````````````````

"Zuko?" Toph's voice was heavy with sleep and her hair was wild around her, reminding him of a fuzzy porcupine he'd seen once on his travels with Uncle.

He'd forgotten how late it was, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep." He turned to leave, but her hand shot out and caught his arm, yanking with all her strength she brought him inside and closed the door.

"Well I'm awake now, so you might as well start talking about whatever it is you wanted to talk about."  
A small smile tugged at his lips, "Thanks Toph."  
She didn't respond as she went to grab a glass of water, knowing he would use firebending to light the various candles and oil lamps about the room.

"So, what's on your mind?" she asked after she had her water.  
"I need...I need your advice about something."  
"Something? Or someone?" her lips twitched a little and she knew he had glared at her.  
"Fine, someone." He hated how easy it was for her to read him, especially since she was blind.  
"Sure. What's the problem?"

He sat on one the multiple chairs in her room and shook his head, "It's hard to explain. I don't know where to start. I feel so confused."  
Toph stared blankly at him, "No offense, but I think I know what your problem is, and it's not that hard."  
"Oh really? What is it then?" he challenged.  
"Easy. You have feelings for Sessa, you have since the day you brought her to camp. I don't know why that's so complicated or confusing."  
His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. _Okay, maybe it's not that hard._ He rubbed his eyes before he tried to speak, but she held up a hand to keep him quiet. _  
_  
Cutting off the protest she knew he'd been about to make, she looked at him, "Before you go trying to deny it, remember two things: I know when people lie and you're the one that came to me for advice."

His mouth snapped shut and he sighed, "Okay. You're right, but I don't know _why_ I have feelings for her. I mean, I hardly know her! And then there's Mai..." his voice trailed off as pain and guilt hit him at the memory of her being arrested at the Boiling Rock for helping him escape.

Toph slapped a hand over her face in frustration and huffed, "Okay, first of all, it's your own fault you don't know her that well. You're the one who's been keeping your distance from her for the past few weeks; I mean it's not like she hasn't tried to get to know you better."

He flinched as he remembered the times she'd invited him to go into town or to train with her, and unless it was with others from their group, he'd always refused.

"As for Mai," she continued, "What does she have to do with it? Tell me about her; how long have you guys were together, and all that other nasty romantic stuff Katara and Suki go goo-goo for."

He chuckled at her description of the two hopeless romantics. "Well, she is...was? my girlfiend, but right now I don't know what we are. Since I'm the traitor and she's in jail. She's not like any other girl I've met. She's not impressed with titles or money, she can take care of herself, she doesn't need anyone and she's just herself." _Unless she's trying to hide her emotions,_ he remembered. "I've known her since we were kids and she's just always been in my life...well, kind of. And she's in jail, because of me! Because she got arrested by my stupid sister for helping me."

Toph shook her head at him, _Men are such idiots,_ she groaned mentally. "Okay. You are so wrong it's not even funny. First of all, not one of us girls here gives a snot about money or titles; we are all _very_ capable at taking care of ourselves, and Hello! I ran away from home because I didn't need anyone." She sent him a glare that made him flinch. "And just because she's kind of been in your life since you were kids doesn't mean anything. It could just be that you're really good friends. And that thing you feel about her being arrested by Azula, its called guilt. Not love. So what if she got arrested for helping you? She's a big girl, she can make her own choices and deal with the consequences. Besides, it's not like our friends haven't been arrested for helping us." Her sarcasm made his temper snap, but he held it in. She was being honest and while he didn't like it, she was making sense.

Toph could feel him get angry at what she was saying, but she continued anyway, he needed to hear this. "If you still think of Mai as your girlfriend then you need to think about why you have feelings for Ses, and why they're so strong. Don't deny it. I can feel it. Maybe what you feel for Mai isn't love at all, maybe you just care about her. And as for Ses, you're the only one that can really figure out why you have feelings for her. BUT, I will tell you that she has feelings for you too. Don't give me that look" she said to his surprised expression, "I know 'cus every time she's near you or one of us talks about you, her heart rate and breathing speed up; so I'd bet good money that she's dealing with something similar."

Zuko's heart thudded to a stop for a moment as he let Toph's words penetrate his mind. His brain was running in so many different directions with what she'd said, he felt like it was going to explode.

"Now go away and let me sleep." She grinned. Standing up she walked him to the door but stopped him before he shut it. "Oh, before I forget! While Sessa may have feelings for you, if you don't figure out what your feelings for her mean, and you don't let her know that you have 'em for her, someone else could step in. Trust me; I have experience in that department."

He said nothing as she shooed him out the door and swiftly shut it. Shaking his head in confusion, he walked back to his room and lay on his bed. Frowning at the ceiling, he sighed, _Nothing makes sense. _Closing his eyes, he rolled onto his side and let sleep take him.  
`````````````

The following morning when he went to the kitchen for breakfast, he found only Sokka, Aang and Momo sitting and talking.

"Hey" his voice was still a little gruff, "Where are the others?"  
"Oh! Hey Zuko! They went for their walk, but they've been gone for awhile, they should be back soon though." Smiled Aang.  
"Yea, you know girls, they take forever when they get going." Laughed Sokka as he handed Momo and apple.

Katara's voice made them jump when it went through the house with its enthusiasm, "Hey you guys! Guess what!" she and the others were just walking in, excitement coming off of them as tangible as the sun's warmth.

"What?" Aang's expression mirrored Katara's as he waited for her to tell them whatever had gotten them so excited.  
"Everything's set up in town for the Fire Lily Festival tonight!" giggled Suki, "It looks like it's going to be amazing!"  
Sokka's eyes turned into saucers of blue, "Ooh! Let's go! What time does it start? It's been awhile since we've been to a festival!"

Sessa laughed as she watched the giddy excitement bubble out of him, and without thinking about it, her eyes passed over the rest of the group and settled on Zuko. He noticed. Turning his intense liquid gold eyes to her, he met her gaze and held it a moment. Heat burst through her and she flushed violently, looking away she met Toph's knowing smile and she turned even brighter.

Coughing to take her mind off Zuko, she turned to Aang, "What time should we leave?"  
Zuko answered, "Right after sunset, no one goes to the festival before then, otherwise they know you're visitors; and right now we want to blend in."  
"Okay! We'll see you at sunset then" beamed Suki, "We have a date at a spa!"  
Toph groaned out loud but Sessa and Katara laughed with excitement as they dragged her out and left eh boys staring at them like they'd all grown three heads.  
``````````

When the whole group was finally together just after sunset, they left for the heart of the downtown and the Fire Lily Festival. While the others, especially they girls were excited and happy at the idea of seeing the festival, Zuko was not. In fact, he would have preferred staying at the house, but the others instantly complained that they had been cooped up for nearly a week without doing anything; so he had caved to their wish when Aang all but begged him to let them go. When they were finally in town, his uncomfortable mood was only made worse.

It seemed to him that every pair of gold, brown, grey and black eyes were on them instantly as they walked through the streets. They had barely been in the center of town for five minutes before the rampage of giggling girls tried to get at him. _They don't even know who I am. _He glared at all of them, but they only found this more appealing and continued to blush and try to talk to him as he walked by; frowning in annoyance he pulled his hood up and ignored all of them. But it was the lusty and approving looks many of the boys were sending Sessa that made him angry. _Although,_ began that little voice inside of him, _you know you can't be mad at them for looking at her._ He felt the pressure of a headache begin at his forehead.

But it was true, the girls came back from their little spa trip looking incredible, each one of them had been dressed up and given some make up to highlight their looks. Katara was in a beautiful gold and black skirt and halter-top outfit that accentuated her skin tone and tiny figure, accompanied by gold arm bands. And although Suki and Toph had not allowed the ladies at the spa to change their hairstyle, they had given them a change of wardrobes. Suki wore a low cut pink tank top with a skirt that blended the pink and red tones that were so popular in the Fire Nation, while Toph wore an outfit that was identical to the one she always wore, only this time, the colors were the darker, more fiery colors of deep crimson and black to highlight her pale skin; with both girls wearing gold and red arm bands. Sessa, on the other hand, was wearing an outfit similar in design to Katara's with the only difference being that her colors were of a soft white with gold trimming at the edges of her waist, neck and hem, that showed far too much of her figure for Zuko's comfort. In place of Katara's necklace, she had chosen gold wrist bands, and unlike almost every other girl present, had refused to wear a topknot; though she had accepted a simple gold headband to keep the waves of hair falling down about her from straying into her eyes. Zuko did not like the looks she was getting.

As Aang and Katara were lead the way through the festival and its throngs of people, Toph and Sokka eyed the various food stalls and restaurants trying to find the best place for them to eat While Sessa walked happily next to him and Suki, talking and smiling as they passed different stalls and groups of people, picking up little trinkets and admiring the things they saw; completely oblivious to the mood of their male companion.

Zuko watched as Suki and the others continued walking down the long alleys of vendors but Sessa, lost in her own thoughts, strayed over to a tiny jewelry stall. Thinking this would be a good time to try and spend some time with her alone, and that the others could handle themselves without them; he stayed with her and silently watched as she picked up a small, delicate gold necklace with a red drop shaped stone that had been carved in the shape of a flame, reminding him of the necklace Katara used to wear, and a smile spread across her face. But when the shopkeeper asked her if she would like to buy it, she smiled politely and said no.

"Don't you like it?" asked Zuko, finally breaking his silence.  
She smiled weakly at him, "Of course I do, mostly because it reminds me of something Roku gave me," she paused and blushed a bit, embarrassed by what she was going to say, "but I think I've spent enough money these last few weeks."

"I'll buy it for you pretty girl" came a cool, deep voice from behind them. When they turned, they found an attractive boy leaning arrogantly against a wall with a bored look on his face, his deep brown eyes locked on Sessa. There was no doubt in Zuko's mind that he was the son of a wealthy family, about their age, and while he didn't parade himself around like a peacock, his clothes did nothing but show off his tall, muscular figure.

Zuko disliked him instantly, but decided to watch Sessa's reaction to see if this was the kind of thing she liked; and to his surprise he found that she did not look pleased, in fact, she looked a bit uncomfortable. "Oh! Um, no thank you."

Despite his good looks, it seemed to Zuko that this boy had no semblance of a brain, as he sauntered over to her anyway, smirking. "Come on, I'll give it to you for a fair price." At her doubtful and somewhat annoyed expression, he crept closer. "It'll cost you just one kiss." He leaned in.

Sessa's eyes widened in horror, but before she could bring her knee up into his crotch, the boy was gone in a whoosh of air. When her blue eyes found him again, he was fifteen feet away in a heap on the floor, a dazed and pained expression on his face with a furious Zuko stalking toward him.

"Stay. away. from. _her_." His voice was deadly and quiet, but the threat behind it ran clear through the air like it would have if he'd shouted it. The unnamed boy nodded his head wordlessly, stood up and ran off as fast as his legs would take him.

Sessa gaped at Zuko as he walked back to her, "Um. Thanks? I guess?" she wasn't sure what emotion she should be feeling, while she was angry at him for stepping in when she could handle the situation on her own, she was also a little flattered. _Oh god, this guy's going to drive me nuts._

Zuko's gold eyes met hers and when he couldn't come up with something to say, he just nodded to her. Suki's voice brought them back to reality, "Hey shoppers, we found a place to eat. Let's go!"

Confused and completely taken off guard by his actions, Sessa followed her friends silently as they walked to the restaurant. _I think I fell off the crazy bus and landed in the twilight zone. Since when does Zuko go all Rambo? It's going to be a long night...  
````````_

She had no idea how right she would be, the moon had just begun to set for the sun's morning rise when they finally made it back to the house. The festival had been a wonderful experience full of fire lilies (each of the girls had been given a handful by a smitten shopkeep), food, music, arts, crafts, people, firebending and games (minus the one little accident early in the night) she smiled at the memory of Zuko getting rid of the weirdo. She'd had so much fun, she wasn't even sure she'd be able to go to sleep, even though she was physically exhausted. As the others said good night and headed off to their individual rooms, she wandered over to the fountain in the courtyard and made a small fire rose appear in the palm of her hand. She watched it dance and flicker and smiled at the warmth it created as it spread through her.

"Hey." Zuko's quiet voice stirred the night as he sat down next to her, making her heart and fire rose flicker.  
"Hey. I thought you'd gone to bed with others?" she tried smiled weakly in an attempt to hide her enthusiasm that he was here with her. _Alone_.  
"No, I needed to talk to you about some things."

Surprise, and a bit of silly girly hope lit inside her that it would have to do with him helping her tonight. "Okay, shoot." She dissolved the flower and turned it into a tiger's face.

_Where do I start? At the beginning I guess._ He reasoned mentally. "Um, well. Do you remember that night when you had that dream...or more like a nightmare and we fought? About a day or two after I brought you to camp?" Noticing she was cold, he sent a stream of fire to the bonfire pit Toph had made when they first arrived and let the wood within it burn.

She paused, and dissolved the tiger, focusing all of her attention entirely on him, _Okay, not what I was expecting, but might as well go with it. _ "Yes. I don't think I'd ever be able to forget one of those dreams." _In fact I have one almost every night...only now I don't tell you about it so you won't think I'm a crazy person.  
_  
Taking a deep breath, he looked her in the eyes and told her what he'd been wanting to tell her for weeks. "Well...I've been having them too. In fact, I started having them for almost a month before we even met."

Her eyes widened, "You what?" Anger, pain, and something she refused to believe was embarrassment ran through her veins like a run-away-train, "You mean to tell me that when I asked you about it you and you said no, to my face, you were LYING?"

He flinched, he'd expected this. "Yes."  
She glared navy fury at him, "Why? What could you possibly get out of not telling me? What if they're trying to tell us something?"

"Nothing," he began quickly, desperate to calm her temper, "I didn't get anything out of not telling you. I was just...I was just trying to get to know you first! I didn't know if I could trust you and now I know I can. And that's why I'm telling you now, I want make sure we're not missing anything."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Of course, because leaving my home, my family and everything I've ever known and loved to help Aang the rest of you isn't enough? You're right; I must be some secret undercover spy."

"No!" he shouted, angry that this had turned into an argument, "that's not what I meant!" When she said nothing but continued to glare, he continued, "It's just that, I was confused, I didn't understand why we were dreaming similar dreams or why I had feelings for you when I'd never seen you before".

"Well maybe if you'd TALKED to me about it, we could have figured it out!" she snapped. "Is that why you've avoided me like the Bubonic Plague for the last month?"

"The Bubonic what? And yes, but like I said, only because I was trying to figure things out." _Why is it, that with her, I never make sense?_ He sighed.

"Nothing, it's an old disease where I'm from." She huffed out a breath and tried to make reason out of rhyme. _I guess...if I'd been in his position, I might have done the same thing. _She frowned at him until something struck her. "Wait. Back up. What do you mean feelings?"

He slapped a hand over his face, _of course she caught that_,_ she may be oblivious to some things, but to others...she doesn't miss a thing,_ he coughed. "Nothing."  
"Zuko. So help me, I will either kick your butt or not talk to you ever again if you do not explain things. Maybe both." _Which is probably a lie but I won't tell you that._

His gold eyes widened at her threat and he laughed, there was no way he could continue ignoring her, especially since he knew his feelings for her weren't lessening by not speaking to her; and he really did not want to fight her again. "What else do you want me to say? I have feelings for you, and they're strong. Stronger than they should be, especially since we've barely had a chance to get to know each other."

She gave him a droll look, "Not my fault."

"I know." He ran a hand through his messy black hair, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you by keeping the dreams from you, or put you at a distance, I was just trying to make sense of things."

Rolling her shoulders to relieve some of the tension she sent him an amused smile, "I accept you're apology, and if I were really nice I'd tell you that you don't need to, since I probably would have done the same thing. But whatever. So are your feelings the reason you threw that guy down earlier at the festival?"

Instantly his look was sheepish, "Oh...uh...yea." he blushed slightly.  
She laughed and shook her head. "Weirdo."  
At her teasing comment he relaxed, "So um, have you still been having those dreams?" He did not want to get into the topic of feelings right now; right now, he wanted to figure out what their dreams meant, _because I have them every night and they scare me more than anything._ And maybe spend some private time with her to get to know her the way the others had.

Her face sobered and she looked away into the fire, "Yes, every night. The worst part is that I forget I'm dreaming, I get swept up into whatever is going on and I don't pay attention. But I have noticed that sometimes the sequence of events don't change, and sometimes they'll start at a different time."

He fought back the urge to comfort her, "Yea, me too."  
"What does it mean?" with that simple question he saw for the first time the fear in here blue eyes, and he hated seeing it there.  
"I don't know." And that bothered him more than anything. He wanted answers and he wanted to keep her safe. _Always,_ the last thought was quick and fleeting as they watched the fire dance. _I wish Uncle were here. _


	11. Dai Li

As the two benders continued to debate about what to do regarding their similar dreams and how they tied them together, the two pairs of eyes watching them narrowed. Large ocean blue ones darkened as the young prince admitted to having feelings for the new waterbender, whereas the deep, muddy brown ones smiled wickedly at the useful revelation. Neither one moved from their hiding place even as the darkness of night gave way to the first lightening of the morning sky; instead the owner of the brown eyes crouched closer to the roof to hear better, and the blue eyed individual sat in the hall thinking.

Sessa covered her mouth and yawned as the night's excitement finally caught up with her, "Okay, I'm officially fried, and if I don't get enough sleep I turn into one heck of a scary, evil monster. I think it's time for me to go to bed." _Or I could just pass out and let him deal with me being unconscious...again, and then of course tomorrow there'll be the awkwardness which will make me feel like an idiot for doing it. Go to bed Sessa. Just go to bed. _She shook her head at herself and laughed.

_She has a very bizarre way of speaking. _Zuko nodded, they had been talking for nearly two hours, "Yea, the others will be up soon."

Rising, Sessa turned to him, her eyes a few shades darker than normal; something he'd begun to notice only happened when she was upset, "Zuko...I know...I know that we have feelings for each other, and that they're strong, whether they're coming from our dreams or just old fashioned chemistry...but right now we can't do anything about them."

He frowned at her, a quick, hot flash hit his heart, "Why not?" from his experience most normal girls went nuts when the guy they liked felt the same. He didn't understand.  
She cocked an eyebrow at him as if he should already know the answer. Holding up her right hand, she ticked off two fingers with her left one as she spoke, "One: Katara. Two: Mai."

Zuko's stomach clenched at the discomfort that came with those names. Despite the fact that it had only been about a month since they had met, everything that happened before he met her seemed so long ago, as if she'd managed to turn his life upside down merely by becoming a part of it. And even though he wanted nothing more than to forget the pain and confusion of his past, he also knew there were things he needed to face if he wanted a chance at a brighter future. _With her._

Watching the understanding on his face she took a deep breath, "Look, I don't know what the deal is between you and Katara, but I know there's something there, and you two need to sort it out. Not just because I'm asking you to, but because Aang deserves it too. As for Mai...I know she was...or is your girlfriend and it's obvious that she cares deeply about you; and you care about her." She paused, "I just don't want anyone to get hurt, especially not the people you care about; so for everyone's sake, you need to figure out what you're feelings for us are, and how strong. It's not fair to any one of us for you to be 'interested' in all of us. Or something like that. 'Cus that's just bad juju and then there's all the drama and animosity, and I'm seriously sick of high school boy drama. " She huffed. _I hate saying things like this. _

He glared at her, but his voice was quiet, "With the exception of the last bit, you sound like Uncle."  
She smiled at him, "And Iroh is usually right. Night Zuko."

He frowned at her retreating figure, _I hate that._

The two figures that had been watching them throughout their conversation, slipped silently from their hiding places and headed for the next location of their plans; one disappeared soundlessly down the hall into Zuko's room, the other vanished into the girl's garden.  
````````````

Zuko entered his room exhausted and frustrated. His thoughts tumbled about inside his mind as he mulled over everything he and Sessa had talked about during the night, so engrossed was he that he failed to notice the figure on his bed until they coughed quietly to get his attention. Snapping his head up, he found Katara sitting on the edge of his bed watching him. Dark brown hair fell wildly behind her and he fire nation clothes complemented her deep skin tone, the only draw back was the look she was giving him; her eyes churned with mixed emotions as she watched him grab a chair and set it across from her, sliding into it he waited for her to speak.

"So you have feelings for her." It was a statement, lacking the emotion her eyes were showing him.  
_I should have known, _he ran a hand through his hair. "You listened?"  
Instead of answering, she blinked.  
"Yes Katara, I have feelings for her."

Her eyes softened at the sincerity she saw on his face; and while she knew it was wrong to ask him the questions tugging at her mind, she needed the answers to finally be able to see to the future with clear eyes.

"More than your feelings for me?"

Zuko's brow furrowed slightly at this, he had guessed that after everything they'd been through together, both as enemies and teammates, at some point they would need to have this conversation...he just wished it wasn't right now. _Looks like life isn't going to cut me a break anytime soon._ If it was one thing he'd learned about Katara, it was that she was an amazing person, full of kindness, loyalty, bravery and sincerity; and she deserved his honesty.

"Yes." He murmured, "My feelings for her are stronger than my feelings for you were." He continued quickly, "But you have to know that I never meant to hurt you, I never planned this...it just happened."

Katara watched him struggle to find the words he needed to explain things to her and a smile tugged at her lips, "I know. I was just making sure." She shook her head at his surprised expression, "Zuko you have to know that a part of me has feelings for you, I think everyone knows that; but I've seen the way you are with Sessa, and I know how Aang feels about me, so I'm just trying to say that I'm done caring about you."

Her smile broadened at the look he sent her, "I mean, I will always care about you, but from now on it will only be as a friend. I just want to make sure you and Sessa don't get hurt. And if I've been acting funny lately it's because I've been trying to figure out how you two feel about each other...and how I felt about you."

A small smile graced his lips, "Thanks Katara. That means a lot. Don't worry about me and Sessa, I just need to think about it a little while longer, but I promise I won't do anything to hurt her."

She laughed, "Good, I'd hate to have to hurt you."

Rising together, she walked over to him and hugged him, "Good night Zuko."

"Night Katara." As he opened the door to the hall, a loud crash shattered the silence of early daylight.  
````````````

When Sessa entered her room and saw her huge bed waiting for her, all her thoughts and concerns about Zuko vanished, and left in the wake was a small voice mentally begging her for long overdue sleep.

"Oh yea...all nighters and I do not get along! Thank god I'm not at home and don't have school tomorrow, I'd never wake up and Mr. Yoshi...evil man...can't believe he's a science teacher...would probably try to give me detention, _again_. At which point Yuki, Amy, Mei and I would have to remind just how bad of an idea that would be." She giggled at the idea.

Without bothering to change, she fell onto the bed face first she and moaned happily in blissful comfort at the feel of it engulfing her. _So tired._ Reaching up she grabbed a pillow and pulled it under her head, nuzzling it happily her eyes were almost closed when a flicker of shadow caught her attention. Snapping her eyes open she took in the sight that met her and shot up into a sitting position, her eyes wide in sick shock at the four Dai Li agents standing in her room.

_Oh. Shit._ She took in the situation.

One of them was standing between her and her bedroom door, _What the...How the hell did he get there? I just came into the room? Were they here the whole time!_ Her mind was racing with questions, but she knew she had to calm down and assess the situation. Glancing around, she quickly took in the location of the other three.

One of the men was directly across from her, watching her steadily in a ready-to-fight stance; another stood by her bathroom door in an attempt to block an escape made in that route; and the last of them was in the middle of the doorway leading out to her garden.

_Ok, _she thought,_ we have Tweedle leader,_ the one closest to her, had to be the one in charge, as the others_ tweedle dee, tweedle dumb, and tweedle dumber,_ kept their eyes on him for direction_ but I'm still in trouble. _ There was no escape route she could get to without a fight, and she could tell by the deadly looks on their faces that it wouldn't be an easy one. _Damn!_ Scrambling to get her thoughts in order she tried to evaluate her options for fighting; yet before anything solid came to mind, the Dai Li closest to her, the one standing by the door, sent an earth glove at her.

_EEP! _Gasping, she dove for the edge of the bed sliding over it in a wave of bed sheets and pillows; unfortunately the glove caught her hard by the ankle and pinned her awkwardly to the floor while white sheets pooled around her. With a sinister smirk at how easy this was going, he began to walk toward her. Feeling the adrenaline thundering through her veins, she went with instinct to create a fire ball before shooting it toward the ankle shackle, forcing it explode and lighting some of the sheets on the ground on fire. Without waiting she rolled over into a crouch and quickly sent several more at him in an attempt to create an opening; instead he dove to the side, effectively dodging them, while her wall and other furnishings caught fire in his place.

_Shit!_ Bending some water out of a wash basin that sat on her table, she put the fires around her out and turned her attention to the agents, _It's too risky for fire, stick with water. And if I remember correctly, that's going to put me at a serious disadvantage._ The Dai Li had closed rank and began stalking toward her as one in a group attack, a perfectly synchronized enemy. They approached her silently and with sinister smirks on their faces, perfectly aware that she would not risk the use of firebending in such a confined space as it could quickly become an uncontrollable fire, and would therefore have to resort to what they considered the weaker of the two elements.

Holding the water around her like a serpent ready to strike, she eyed them wearily. _Okay, options...one, scream...and end up sounding like a pathetic idiot who can't take care of herself and always needs help. So no. Option two, fight and risk getting caught, that would seriously suck. Ugh! Screw that! I did not come all the way here to get taken out by some over dressed bad boy wannabes! So then, option three, kick ass._ Steadying her nerves, she looked for the weakest link to attack first, when she found none, she frowned mentally.

The second agent attacked instantly, throwing a glove at her head; she ducked barely avoiding the blow, and offended by the attack responded by throwing a water whip to distract him before sending another pool at his feet and freezing him to the floor. He glared at her. She grinned. Her satisfaction was short lived, as the ice only held for a minute before he punched it with his remaining glove and was released.

The leader watched the girl move and knew that they had her in a corner; with limited space or resources she was all but caught. Running over multiple ideas he decided their best chance at doing this quickly, without being caught was a rush attack. Nodding to the two agents who still had their gloves, he signaled the agent with only one glove left to be ready.

Standing defiantly, Sessa told herself she was ready for whatever they were about to do, her furious gaze met his. He smiled evilly and without warning, four gloves came flying at her. She threw up a shield of ice to block it, only forgetting one minor detail: rocks are heavier than ice. Her shield shattered like glittering rain and the gloves connected solidly with her chest and stomach, throwing her back to crash loudly and painfully against the wall, sending cracks along it. Her world spun as her body screamed at her, her breath came in short unfulfilling gasps; the blow had knocked the wind out of her. She felt sick at the taste of copper in her mouth.

With fury running hot through her blood, she stood up and fought the way her world tipped sideways in vertigo. Foolishly thinking the gloves were their only weapons, she bent the ice back to her as spikes and attacked. At the sight of the determined girl the leader nodded to his partner, the agent who had kept his one glove; with lightning speed the two of them sent out long chains that wrapped around her legs and arms, tightly binding her and sending her crashing to the ground. Her head connected painfully with the ground, leaving her with a flickering image of green gliding toward her and a single thought, _Zuko, _before blackness took her. _  
_  
"Hurry. We've lost the coverage of the night and someone must have heard that." Snapped the mission commander, angry that it had taken longer than expected to complete their assignment. "You two!" he nodded to the two agents who were gloveless, "Tell them we are ready and will be there soon." With quick bows they vanished out the door.  
He turned his attention to his partner kneeling beside the unconscious girl, "She's out." he answered without looking up at him.

"Good. Pick her up and let's go." Without another word they collected their 'package' and left the room, vanishing over the wall of the garden.  
````````````

By the time Katara and Zuko made it to where they guessed the sound had come from Sokka, Suki, Toph and Aang were already there. In front of Sessa's room.

_Sessa. _Panic surged through Zuko as he realized the unlikelihood that she was still there.

Sokka and Toph were looking around inside in an attempt to piece together what had happened, while Suki and Aang stood by the door, worry and confusion shinning bright in their eyes.

Their friend was nowhere to be found, but in her place was ruin. Parts of the walls, floor and several bed sheets were charred, as puddles of water, chunks of rock and an array of pillows littered the floor. Long, spider-like cracks danced along the wall hinting at the force with which whatever hit it must have had. Whatever kind of fight had been fought in the room, it had been rough.

"Sokka what happened?" gasped Katara taking in the mess.  
"I have no idea! I was asleep when Suki came running in to get me she thought we were under attack."

Aang looked to Toph, worry making his young face look older than its years, "No." she answered quietly, "She's not here. I can't feel her heartbeat anywhere; but I know who took her." She kicked the floor, earthbending several large pieces of rock into her hand. She held them up for the others to look at, "Earth gloves. It was the Dai Li."

Hot, furious rage tore through Zuko as he realized that after the fall of Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li had returned to the Fire Nation...with his sister, his thoughts turned deadly, _Azula.  
```````````_

Sessa's eyes protested angrily at her multiple attempts to open them, but despite the raging headache it induced, she managed to succeed. From what she could see, despite the blurriness of her vision, she was standing in the middle of a large, barren room with her arms outstretched and shackled to two stone pillars that ran from ceiling to floor. _Oh god, I feel like that blonde girl waiting for King Kong to come and eat her. _Her head throbbed, _With a hangover to boot. Damn, Wait...where else have I seen this..._she studied her surroundings once more before the memory came to her, _oh! It's just like when they had Aang, _she realized horrified. _Well fuck. Isn't this just a picnic in the park, I must be with the Fire Nation, _she sighed angrily_._ _I did not get enough sleep for this. Maybe I'm so tired and this is just a hallucination? It's happened before, it could happen again..._Candles scattered about the room cast dancing shadows, igniting a flicker of fear that danced along her spine as she was flooded with the memories of her dreams. _Nope, no hallucination. _

Swiftly turning her head from side to side, she looked eagerly for an exit, or something to help her escape, only to be hit with a wave of vertigo so strong her knees nearly gave out. "Oh sweet mother of god! My head." She groaned as she felt her pulse thunder against her skull and a wave of nausea hit her like a battering ram, "I feel like I've got those bloody Irish dancers dancing on my brain. Not good. Maybe unconsciousness is better? I vote for that."

"Oh, don't say that." Drawled a low, deep voice from the shadows, sending Sessa's heart rate through the roof.

Stepping out from the leaping darkness in long, elegant robes came the tall, strikingly attractive man; his beauty marred only by the coldness of his molten stare and deadly aura around him. Her breath caught in her throat, _Ozai._ His deadly gaze held her as continued toward her. _Oh you have got to be kidding me! REALLY? Aw man, I'm so totally screwed. You know, I must have seriously pissed someone off in a past life. This just keeps getting better and better. If I die, I'm so going to have a few choice words to the higher powers. Maybe with sharp pointy objects?_

He stopped before her and reached out and moved a strand of hair from her face, "There now. Isn't that better?" he tried to smile, she winced.

"Actually, no. Mind coming back later? I think you're presence is making me sick. In fact why don't you just go back to whatever rat hole you crawled out of." She flashed a cheeky grin at him while her brain screamed at her for being idiotic enough to be sarcastic with the most deadly man in the Avatar world, but when she was nervous, she always became just a bit snippy. _I have got to be suicidal, WHO SAYS THAT? And to the FIRE LORD for Christ sake! _

To her surprise, he laughed. It made her skin crawl even more. _Oh god, someone locked me in the twilight zone and didn't tell me. _She glared at him, after what she'd seen him to do Zuko during their Agni Kai, there were some very painful things she wanted to do to him, many of which involved her hurting him. The last thing she wanted to do was make him laugh. _You know...I could try kneeing him in the crotch, but then I think he'd kill me and right now, I need to stay alive. For now. _

"Finished?" she snapped, letting him see all her hatred and dislike she held for him.

His liquid gold eyes narrowed on her, "No, not at all. In fact, I think we will be seeing quite a bit of each other for a while. Especially since it seems we have some things, or more like _some people _in common." She knew what they inflection was supposed to mean, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of scaring her, for all she knew he was making it up and had no idea who she was connected to. When her only response was a raised eyebrow, he continued. "Don't play dumb girl. I know you've been in contact with my son. Zuko, and his _friend_ the Avatar."

Sessa's heart stopped dead in her chest, _oh no! They know. But...but how? No one supposed to know except Aang and the others! _Panic surged inside her, sending a rush of rage illuminating her wide blue eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about." She snapped, venom lacing every word, "And if you don't let me out of here, I'm going to open a serious can of whoop ass on you, you overgrown egomaniac!"

Ozai smirked evilly, a dangerous glint shinning in his eye, "So it's true." He whispered happily. "Very well then, I look forward to seeing what you are capable of and this can of ass; AFTER the Dai Li have finished with you. I expect we'll be getting to know each other very well as we spend more time together." He sneered. With that, he turned on his heel and left her standing chained to the two pillars as several Dai Li agents descended from the ceiling.

Despite her outward bravery and sarcasm, internally, she was terrified.

Flashback:

"Sessa?" Amy's voice was quiet as she softly approached her best friend. Unlike her usual 11-yr old self, Sessa didn't say a word or spin around giggling to hug her tightly in hello; instead she stood stiffly under the shadow of a weeping willow, which to Amy was cruelly ironic. Her normally wild hair, the lightest of any of their classmates was plastered to her back in stands of honey, a sharp contrast to the empty black dress she was wearing. Another sign that something was wrong, Sessa hated black, unless it was for shoes, she always wore bright, happy colors to mimic her personality.

Amy wasn't surprised when she didn't respond, her small figure was turned away from her standing defiantly against the cold November storm, and Amy wasn't sure if she was trembling from the cold or the tears desperate to escape their confines and run down her face. "Sessa, I'm _so_ sorry."

Those final words seemed to undo her, Sessa spun around, her eyes flashing like hazel lighting against the grey world, glaring hatred at anyone who dared to comfort her in this moment. Despite the rage in her eyes, her body was weak, supporting her only a moment before her legs gave out from under her and she collapsed onto moist grass, only to be wracked with sobs as her heart continued to shatter with in her.

In an instant Amy had rushed forward and gathered Sessa's shaking body into her arms, gently rocking her as she cried with the rain over the death of her parents.  
"I won't tell you its okay, because its not. But it is okay to be sad, it's okay to be scared, but I promise you, you're not alone. We're here for you. Mei, Yuki and I are always here for you and we won't let anything happen to you." Even though Amy was murmuring the words for comfort, they were laden with fierce determination as she mentally swore to herself she would never let anything hurt her friend again.

End Flashback.

Sessa felt the pain of that day surge through her veins as she remembered the promise she'd made her parents the day she buried them, that no matter what, no matter how scared she got, she would never give up. Glaring ocean blue furry into the faces of the Dai Li agents coming to see her, she kicked her feet up and shot out an arc of red gold fire directly in their path.  
`````````

Unlike almost all the other festive and lively nights during the summer season on Ember Island, this one was silent. Nothing but the gentle greeting of wave on shore could be heard as a sliver of silver moon hung delicately against its black, star speckled sky. There were no parties or dances or festivals taking place in the heart of town to disrupt its ancient song; the only disruption to the timeless image were the multiple lighted windows, like ancient beacons, calling people home. As if it knew the thoughts and worries of its solitary companion and was sharing in them.

Zuko paced back and forth along the beach in front of the manor, anger and worry dancing through him as he imagined what Sessa was going through at the hands of his sister. _Nothing good._ He more than anyone else knew her cruel mood and games, and the very idea of Sessa going through them made him sick.

It wasn't until she'd been gone that he began to realize just how much she meant to him. How much she'd taken hold of his life, and his heart. How he'd come to expect her to walk back from the beach every morning with a new collection of sea shells and show them to him with excitement beaming in her eyes, hoping he'd say something nice; he never doubted that she would be there ever day without fail for their mid-day sparring sessions with her witty sarcasm and determination to learn whatever difficult technique he tried to use against her, or that she would miss a Friday venture into town to see what new things were available, even though most things never changed. The shopkeepers and store owners had come to expect it too, they each knew her by name, and when they asked him where she'd gone, he'd lie and say she was sick. They always sent their hellos.

He missed her late night stories about her family and her home; or the way she cooked them food he'd never even seen before (the things called s'mores were her favorite treat) and would laugh until she cried if they didn't like it. There was a part of him, deep within him that only his Uncle and his mother had been able to touch, and though she'd tried, Mai had only been able to scratch the surface. It was that part of him that ached for her; for that easy smile that was always just below the surface, or that temper that flared when she argued with him, but more than that, it ached for _her_. The way she was, without even being aware of it. She'd conquered his heart without even trying and he was only just beginning to realize it. Each day that slipped by without her, his anger and worry grew.

The day she'd been taken, they'd all sat down to come up with strategic plans to find her and bring her home, but none of them seemed to be good enough. So when Aang, Katara and Toph had concocted a satisfactory plan to go and get her back, he'd wanted nothing more than to jump onto Appa's back and go with them. Toph, however, had wasted no time in pointing out to her impulsive friends what a 'stupid' idea it was, especially since he'd become target number two for his father and Azula after the day of black sun.

_I hate this._ It wasn't just the fact that he couldn't do anything, it was that he had to stay behind with Sokka and Suki. He groaned aloud at the moon. No matter how much of a family they had become, or how much they all cared about each other, there were still some things he did not want to be a part of.

_Let alone know about,_ He screwed up his face as he thought about the one thing that really made his skin crawl and seek the comfort of the rolling blue that matched Sessa's eyes, _Sokka and Suki disappearing every couple of hours for a few rounds of sex, is definitely something I DO NOT want to be around._ He forced his thoughts to a less disturbing topic and thought about what he would do if he ever managed to get his hands on his sister.

"Zuko!"

_Sessa?_ Spinning around he saw her come rushing out of the cool black water, heading straight for him while Katara, Aang, Toph and Appa followed suit. It seemed they had created an air bubble around Appa's head and had returned to Ember Island unnoticed with the help of waterbending and the perfect cover of a nighttime ocean.

Sessa raced toward him, the largest smile he'd ever seen breaking across her face as her hair streaked out behind her like pale flames before she launched herself into his arms and kissed him fully and deeply on the mouth.


	12. Welcome Back

A/N: I am SO sorry it took me forever to get this up! This was a super hard chapter for me to write, but now that it's up, I hope you guys like it as much as I do! If not, let me know what you do/don't like and I'll try to tweak it . On to ch. 12...  
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"Well?" Ozai's voice was low and deadly as his cold, emotionless, eyes studied the kneeling figure of his daughter, bent low before him in the empty, fire-lit throne room.

Azula smirked as she lifted her gaze to him, "It worked, perfectly." her quiet voice was as cold and malicious as his own; "There was a minor problem at beginning when she managed to get her feet and an arm free, but we were expecting it and the Dai Li subdued her quickly enough." She shrugged, "Once she was contained, they were able to perform their interesting mind trick on her." A sinister smile played with her lips as she remembered the girl fighting their attempt to forcefully manipulate her mind. _She fought them well, but I won in the end. I always do._

Azula focused again on her father. "The foolish girl believes she was sent to a prison in the Earth Kingdom and was rescued by the Avatar and some of his friends. As if we would ever make it that easy!" her pretty face was marred by a cold sneer until her father's glare silenced her.

"So we are ready then?" he asked, showing no outward interest in his daughter.

"Yes. She has no memory of anything except being in the Ba Sing Se palace prison. Now, we just need to wait until they attack...and she will help us with our little problem. We will just need to give her the command, and she will _kill_Zuko!" her eyes burned with excitement. This time, when Ozai's deadly gaze met hers, there was approval shining at her.

Zuko froze the moment Sessa's soft mouth met his; tensing at the feel of her pressed against the hard, muscular planes of his body. They were lost together in the sensation until Sessa's brain caught up with her and she realized what she'd done. _Oh shit!_Embarrassment flooded through her, staining her face scarlet and turning her eyes into huge pools of blue.

Jumping back from him, she rushed a flustered apology, " .god! Zuko, I am _so_ sorry! I have no idea what I was doing! I mean, I _know_ what I was doing, but I don't know _why_I did it. I wasn't thinking! I was just...I don't know what I was, but I'm SO sorry! I-"

His molten gold eyes were wide and stormy as they watched her try to make sense of the words tumbling from her mouth, but he couldn't hear her over the thundering drums in his ears. His mind raced with the fact that no one, in his entire life, not his mother, his uncle, or even Mai had ever run to him; _let alone jumped into my arms to kiss me._ While a part of him had been shocked by her unexpected actions, the rest of him had thoroughly enjoyed it; in fact, his body had reacted almost instantly to the feel of her, reminding him just how much of a man he had become since his banishment. _Judging by the expression on her face, she felt the same,_he couldn't help but smile slightly at the thought.

Ignoring the flabbergasted expressions of the others around them, Zuko reached out, caught Sessa's tiny wrist in a tight grip, and tugged her hard against him. Pulling her close, he bent down and continued where she had left off, cutting off her rambling apology. Instantly, all sensible, reasonable thoughts vanished from his mind, leaving him thinking only of the sweet taste of her; wrapping an arm around her small waist, he held her tightly while his lips parted hers and his tongue began a timeless dance with hers.

_Oh, sweet mother of god! I've died haven't I? I died in that prison in the Ba Sing Se palace and this is heaven. This __**has**__ to be heaven. That or I'm having the best dream of my entire life! AHHH! Oh girl! Shut up and enjoy this! _Sessa's mind reeled with a million scattered thoughts as Zuko's mouth worked magic on her own, sending waves of heat through her blood and, she was quite sure, stopping her heart. However, the moment of her ultimate undoing came when she felt him twine his hand in her hair to deepen the kiss and his teeth gently nibbled on her lower lip. She had to remember how to breathe.

Toph's voice sliced through the intense moment like a sudden crash of ice water, "You know, I am SO glad I'm blind right now."

The moment gone, Zuko stepped back, pleased to note that they were both a little breathless from the encounter. His eyes glowed in the starlight and though she was sure he couldn't see it, she could feel the burn of heat along her skin, letting her know that she was about as red as a cherry tomato. She didn't care, _I don't think I could care about anything right now,_ she grinned gleefully; their kiss had left her lightheaded and completely giddy. She had never, _ever_ been kissed like that. _Hell, I don't think I know anyone alive who's ever been kissed like that._

Katara glanced at Toph and laughed, "I wish I were. I don't think I'll ever get that image out of my head."

Sessa tried to look menacing when she glanced at them; she failed and smiled instead, "Ha. Ha. Very funny."

Katara and Toph snickered. Aang on the other hand, said nothing; his smile stretched form ear to ear; not just because his two friends had _finally _kissed, but because he had mentally taken notes for what he hoped he'd be able to do with Katara one day.

Appa rumbled at them as he headed up the stairs to the manor, reminding them there were better places to talk, giggling at him they quick followed.

When they finally reached the entrance to the house, Sessa turned to the others, slightly calmer than before, "Thanks guys. You know, for coming to get me...I have no idea how I'd have gotten out of there if you hadn't shown up."

Aang's face lost some of its humor when he spoke, but his grey eyes were still dancing with happiness, "We're a family. That's what we do."

Toph's punch hit her solidly in the arm, "An' don't you forget it!"

She nodded and smiled a million watt beam at them, happiness still thrumming through her from her kiss, although she knew some was from feeling like a true part of their group.

After exuberant hellos and hugs from both Sokka and Suki, and Suki checking to make sure she was okay, Sessa feigned a yawn and whispered goodnight before turning to head into the house. Even though she wasn't tired in the least, she felt the need to do something; after her rather heated moment with Zuko, she had no idea what to do! And she was certain that if she didn't do something soon, she'd end up acting like an idiot _one way or another, so the best way to avoid that is to go to bed_. Not that she'd be able to sleep. She groaned mentally.

"Wait!" Sokka's sharp voice held a note of concern.  
Confused, she faced him, "Yea?"  
"Do you guys really think it's a good idea to stay here again? I mean, is it safe?" He was no longer their goofy friend and brother, but the ever-ready warrior.

"Yes." Zuko answered, his eyes churned like magma as he surveyed them, "If Azula wanted to attack us, she would have done it when they had Sessa. They know we're here, they just don't care." He took in their varying expressions but remained quiet.

Aang's mercury eyes shimmered with worry in the dwindling light of the fire Suki had set up hours ago, "Why?" The uncertainty that brushed through him made him wish for the comfort that came with the wisdom of Monk Giatsu and Avatar Roku.

"I don't know," Zuko's voice was softer now, but the defiant determination was loud and clear, "but for right now, we're better off here than anywhere else."

The others agreed. Sessa nodded to them and had taken all of three steps when Zuko's voice stopped her. "And you," the tone of his voice sent shivers down her spine, "you are not sleeping alone tonight."

She raised an eyebrow at the authority in his voice, "And why not?" she hated being told what she could and could not do. It pissed her off.

He gave her a droll stare, "Because the last time I left you alone, they kidnapped you." _And I will not let that happen again. _

"Zuko, just because-" his furious glare killed her protest. _Wow...I've never seen him that angry before. _She narrowed her eyes at him and huffed, "Fine." She huffed.

"Perfect!" Katara cut in, a devious grin teasing her lips, "I'd love it if she spent the night with me!"

A truly evil smile blossomed across Sessa's face, she felt very much like the Cheshire cat, "Aw, Katara! Thank you, that'll be perfect! See Zuko? All taken care of. G'night!" laughing at his foul expression, Katara and Sessa followed Toph and Suki inside.

"Ouch. Tough break buddy," laughed Sokka as he watched the girls saunter into the house, leaving him, Aang and Zuko staring after them. "But you know, maybe next time" he winked at Zuko. "Well, I'm beat, so I'm going to bed, with my girlfriend! Night!" he waved as he followed the women into the house.

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"Sessa, are you really okay?" Katara's blue eyes were watching Sessa steadily, as if worried the girl would fall apart right in front of her.

Trying to smile, Sessa nodded as they began getting ready for bed, "Yea. I'm just kind of...I don't know, uneasy, you know? I think a good night's sleep will help me feel better, so I can sort everything out in the morning."

Katara smiled softly at her, "Of course. But if you need anything, just say so"

"Thanks Katara" Sessa surprised the other girl by giving her a swift, tight hug before climbing into the massive bed. Turning out the candles, they said good night and fell asleep; although it proved more challenging for Sessa.

_ -a._

Sessa mumbled as she tried to open her eyes, she felt heavy and drowsy, like someone had given her a very large dose of anesthesia.

_-esa._

Raising an arm that felt like it had an elephant attached to it, she rubbed her eyes open only to find she was completely surrounded by darkness so vast and intense, she could almost believe it was alive.

_Sessa._ The voice that called her name was as soft as an evening spring breeze, gentle and soothing; this was not the voice of her other dream, here she would not be chased by fire and shadow. And though she was not afraid of whoever was calling her, she wished they would turn on the lights. _I hate the dark._She frowned. She felt so tired, like she had been awake for weeks and all she really wanted to do was close her eyes and drift into the warmth of the blackness around her. She yawned and let her eyes begin to close.

_SESSA!_

Her eyes snapped open. She groaned out load and scrunched up her face at the urgency of the voice, _of course, _she thought annoyed, _it never fails. You're tired, you just want to go to sleep and someone...or some THING keeps waking you up. _

Huffing, she took a breath."Hello?" instead of the annoyance she'd expected to hear, her voice was quiet and raspy, as if she hadn't spoken in days. _What the?!_

Sessa, focus on my voice.

Following the command, she was surprised when the darkness slowly began to lighten, like the early morning breath of dawn, and the figure of the person speaking to her could be seen, _Roku? _With the ever increasing amount of light she could make out the lush green scenery and orange gold sky above her. Beautiful and terrifying at the same time, it was the most unsettling place she'd ever been.

She turned to him when he approached. "Roku? What in the world is going on? Where are we? And where's Katara?" her voice had recovered some of its strength but remained barely any louder than if it had been screamed hoarse the night before.

"Listen carefully Sessa, there isn't much time. You must remember everything I tell you. When you wake, this dream will fade quickly and you will forget everything unless you do as I say. We are in the dream realm of the Spirit World and you must wake up." His face showed none of his normal kindness or good humor; _Aw, this can't be good._ She sighed mentally, _I miss life before random dreams with bad news and dead moon goddesses popping into my room. _She pursed her lips, _okay that's a lie, but seriously? A girl can go nuts with all this craziness going on. I seriously doubt these people have any consideration for what's normal. _She shook her head of the silly thoughts.

"Ok, Roku you're freaking me out. Why do I have to wake up? And seriously, why don't you guys ever come see me when there's good news? It's nice to say hi people, you know? Without all the doom and gloom stuff."

At his surprised expression she pinched her nose and massaged the headache she could feel coming on. "Never mind. Okay, explain please."

"When you wake up, you _must_wake Katara and have her heal your mind. Yue and I have been watching over you since you first arrived in our world, we saw what happened when you were taken to the Fire Nation. Something was done to your mind. We don't know what it is, but you must have Katara help you." As he spoke, the colors of the sky darkened and Roku's face began to show signs of worry.

"What are you talking about, Roku? My mind is fine." her voice was hard, a fact she attributed to feeling edgy; the elements of this "dream" were shifting, color was beginning to fade to darkness and she felt as if she and Roku were slowly being pulled apart.

Sessa awoke with a gasp, her skin felt ice cold, and her heart was thumping wildly in her chest, making her feel like she'd run a marathon. A wave of nausea swept over her as she tried to stand with only one though on her mind, _What the?_

"Sessa?" Katara's clear blue eyes shone in soft candlelight, worry was clearly in them.

Jumping, Sessa spun around to face her roommate "Katara? What are you doing awake?" she felt disoriented, as if she'd been given a heavy dose of potent wine, something she'd experienced only a few times with her family.

"You were talking in your sleep, you seemed upset...I, I was going to wake you." Katara answered quietly, her voice gentle.

"Oh, sorry." Sessa offered her a weak smile, "I think I just had a nightmare, but I can't remember it at all. Have you ever had one of those?"

Katara nodded, "Yea, a few times actually. Waterbending usually helps take the anxiety away. Maybe that will help?"

Sessa smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Maybe, I think I just need to get a little air. I'll be right back, but don't tell Mr. Hot Head".

Katara giggled "Oh don't you worry about that. I do not want to be the one to piss Zuko off." she winked.

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Wrapped in the shadows of his room, Zuko lay half naked in bed staring at the celling of his room, letting all of the previous events play over and over again in his mind. No matter how hard he tried to focus on sleeping, his mind kept going back to the feel of Sessa's lips and body pressed against his. His body remembered too, instantly responding to his thoughts. It had been months since he'd last _taken care_ of that particular urge. _Not since I was with Mai._ He groaned, as much as he felt like he was betraying her, he was unable to fight the emotions and thoughts swirling through his mind. His hand was halfway to its destination, to relieve some of the building tension inside his body when a padded step outside the door had him shooting out of bed. Since the night Sessa had been taken, he heard every noise, no matter how quiet, that passed his door.

Stealthily, Zuko made his way across his room and stood by his door to hear outside. Someone was walking past his room as quietly as possible _Or trying to_, he frowned. Waiting until he was sure the intruder was just a little beyond his door, he threw the heavy wooden door open, ready to attack the stranger in an instant.

_AHHH! _Sessa felt her heart pound in her chest when she realized Zuko had opened his door. _Oh shit._ She didn't move an inch. She wasn't even sure she was breathing. _Okay, maybe if I stay really, really still, he won't - _the rest of her thought was cut off when she heard Zuko's low voice.

"And just what, exactly, do you think you are doing, hmm?"

The sounds of his voice skittered over her skin like ice, sending chills down her back. _Eeep! I'm so dead! Not good! _ Turning as slowly as possible, she offered him her most innocent and charming smile. But it was gone the moment she met his gaze. His gold eyes were practically the molten with fury and some other emotion she couldn't quite put her finger on, as he stared her down. _So...I'm totally gonna die. Great._ She was distracted with what he would say to her, until her eyes drifted downward and took in the rest of him.

_Oh. My. God. _Her mouth went dry. With the exception of his black training pants, Zuko was naked and his black hair was slightly tousled which only added to the _seriously_ hot look he was rocking. _Oh momma. _As the lamplight in the hallway flickered around them, it cast shadows that danced over his bare chest, making it look as though his muscles were bunching and rippling, even though he wasn't moving. _So hot. _She thought, feeling her cheeks flush even as she tried to fight it.

Zuko's voice cut into her train of thought again. "What are you doing?" his voice was low and dangerous, making her shiver and part of her body tremble, even though she wasn't; truly afraid of him.

"Eh..." she couldn't get her thoughts together. "I was just out getting some air" her voice was flustered and tight and she knew he could hear it. _Damnit!_

He walked towards her, moving in front of her and cutting off her path in the hallway. His entire body was giving off threatening vibes as he spoke to quietly to her, "And _why_, exactly, would you be doing that after everything that's happened?"

Unconsciously, Sessa stepped back and away from him...in the only direction she could go...towards his doorway. "Erm..."_Oh my god! I sound like a total idiot! What is the matter with me? Sheesh, girl, speak!_"I just needed to get some air and I didn't think that would be a problem, okay?" her voice was getting harsher as she channeled her embarrassment into anger.

Zuko didn't say anything as he let his eyes wander over her. Her light hair was all over the place, telling him she'd had a night as restless as his own. She wasn't wearing her usual black pants and tank top; instead, she was in a pair of black shorts and a red shirt that clung to her body in all the right places. _Damnit! I'm going to kill her. What kind of girl gets kidnapped, held hostage, rescued, and then goes walking around the same mansion she was kidnapped from, ALONE, in the middle of the night?! _He forced his mind to get angry instead of continue focusing on the way her body looked in the low light. "You obviously don't know Azula very well" he growled.

Raising an eyebrow at him, Sessa's eyes darkened from sapphire to indigo, "Well then, I'll just go back to bed and then there won't be a problem. Sheesh" she snapped at him.

Zuko's lips twitched upwards, and before she could say anything else, he rushed at her, forcing her to move backwards with him into his room before he spun her around, closed the door and pinned her against his bedroom wall. With one hand, Zuko kept both of her small wrists firmly above her head. He pressed his hips and legs tightly against hers to keep her from moving he legs, while his other hand rested gently on her hip. "Really?" he asked, his eyes glowing as he leaned towards her. "And what makes you think I'm going to let you go now that I've finally gotten you back?"

Gasping, Sessa stared wide-eyed at Zuko. Every thought in her head had scattered to the wind, leaving her able to focus only on their position and the look in those molten eyes.

"Zuko..." her voice was barely above a whisper when she tried to speak, but he cut her off again.

Without letting her finish her sentence, Zuko bent his head down and took possession of Sessa's lips the way he'd done earlier. Her body tensed at first, unsure of whether she should fight him or surrender to what they both knew the other wanted. _What's the point?_ She asked herself mentally as she felt his lips move against her, silently asking her to open her mouth. _We both want this. Hell! I practically jumped him earlier!_She moaned when his tongue swept through her mouth and his teeth gently nibbled her lower lip.

Zuko pulled back from the kiss and was pleased to see Sessa looking as breathless and overcome by the feelings of the kiss as he was. Every inch of his body felt like it had been lit on fire and was slowly burning him from the inside out. And other, more masculine parts of his body were demanding he take some kind of action. The tension was almost too much for him to handle. _I have to stop...otherwise..._he couldn't finish the thought, he didn't want to stop.

"Sessa," his voice was low and rough "if you want me to stop, you had better tell me now...otherwise...I won't be able to."

_Plese don't tell me to stop. _His eyes burned as he watched her, and she realized now that the emotion she hadn't been able to define when he'd looked at her in the hallway had been desire. It took her brain a full eight seconds to function fully, _Oh no, too late...don't stop,_but her voice failed her. Instead, she wiggled her arms and tilted her head back, allowing him to see the permission she was giving him.

Zuko didn't need a second invitation. Releasing her wrists, he wrapped one hand in the loose waves of her hair and gently pulled her back, deepening the kiss; while with his other arm he reached down and lifted her off the ground. Instinctively, Sessa wrapped her legs around Zuko's waist and let him carry her over to his bed.


End file.
